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GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 PRAYER REQUESTS

BELOVED OT PASSAGES DEVOTIONALS 1

PHILIPPIANS 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

DATE PRAYER REQUEST

GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 PRAYER REQUESTS

2 BELOVED OT PASSAGES DEVOTIONALS

DATE PRAYER REQUEST

GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 EXCERPT: SLOWING DOWN TO PRAY


Slowing Down to Pray

Hybels, Bill (2009-08-20). Too Busy Not to Pray (p. 117-126). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition. If we are involved in the marketplace, we are trained to believe that time is money. That’s why we talk about managing time, using it efficiently and profitably and—as a result of our concern—dealing with time pressures. Cram more in. Start earlier. Work later. … Sure, getting caught up in that intense pace can be rewarding. It’s exciting when the adrenaline starts to flow and you get on a roll, when your motor starts racing faster and faster. But you probably know as well as I do that it leaves precious little time for quiet moments with God. … As the psalmist said of godly people, “Their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither” (Psalm 1:2-3 NRSV). … I want to offer you a practical, tested, guaranteed RPM-reduction approach that will help you slow down your life so that you can stop playing games and begin leading an authentic Christian life. To start, I’m going to describe a vehicle that may seem out of place in a book about prayer but in reality is a very important first step. … This vehicle is keeping a journal—in this case, a spiritual journal. It involves writing down your experiences, observations and reflections; looking behind the events of the day for their hidden meanings; and recording ideas as they come to you. When I first learned about journaling, I had visions of people spending hours and hours in the middle of the day letting their stream of consciousness flow all over endless reams of paper. I wondered who on earth had this kind of discretionary time, but fortunately I kept my thoughts to myself. Over the years I found myself drawn to the writings of a wide variety of people—mystics, Puritans, contemporary authors rich in their devotional handling of Scripture—who seemed to have one thing in common: most of them journaled. In addition I began to discover something about certain people in my church and around the country whose ministries and character I deeply respect. Most of them journal too. And yet I knew these people did not climb into ivory towers for the better part of the day. PRACTICAL JOURNALING It was around this time that I read Gordon MacDonald’s book Ordering Your Private World. In it MacDonald suggested journaling, but with a twist. Go to a drugstore, he said, and buy a spiral notebook. Plan to write in this notebook every day, but restrict yourself to one page. Every day, when you open to the next blank sheet



of paper, write the same first word: Yesterday. Follow this with a paragraph or two recounting yesterday’s events, sort of a postgame analysis. Write whatever you want—perhaps a little description of the people you interacted with, your appointments, decisions, thoughts, feelings, high points, low points, frustrations, what you read in your Bible, what you were going to do and didn’t. According to MacDonald, this exercise causes a tremendous step forward in spiritual development. On one hand, his approach didn’t turn me completely off, as my visions of midday mystics had done. But on the other hand, I was still skeptical. Come on, I thought, what could that exercise possibly do? Most of us, the author said, live unexamined lives. We repeat the same errors day after day. We don’t learn much from the decisions we make, whether they are good or bad. We don’t know why we’re here or where we’re going. One benefit of journaling is to force us to examine our lives. But an even greater benefit, he said, is this: the very act of journaling—sitting down, reaching for the spiral notebook, focusing our thoughts on our life, writing for five or ten minutes—will reduce our RPMs from ten thousand to five thousand. I knew it was just what I needed. I have a high energy level in the morning. As I’ve already noted, I can’t wait to get to the office to start the day’s work, and once the adrenaline starts flowing, the phone starts ringing and people start arriving, I can easily stay at ten thousand RPMs until I crash at night. So I decided to start journaling. What did I have to lose? My first journal entry began, “Yesterday I said I hated the concept of journals and I had strong suspicions about anyone who has the time to journal. I still do, but if this is what it’s going to take to slow me down so I can learn to talk and walk with Christ the way I should, then I guess I’ll journal.” And I do. Every day! I don’t think I’ve ever written anything profound in my journal, but then that’s not the point. The amazing thing is what happens to my RPMs when I write. By the time I’ve finished a long paragraph recapping yesterday, my mind is off my responsibilities, I’m tuned in to what I’m doing and thinking, and my motor is slowed halfway down. A PAGE OF PRAYER Journaling, then, is the important first step in slowing down to pray. It gives the body a brief rest. It focuses the mind. It frees the Spirit to operate, if only for a few minutes. But even though journaling may improve your life enormously, it will not in and of itself turn you into an authentic Christian. It’s only a first step in the right direction. After you have bought a spiral notebook, filled the first page and reduced your RPMs by half, what’s the next step? Your engine is still racing at speeds that would prove disastrous in an ordinary car.



Step two in the RPM-reduction program is one you already know about and perhaps have even started practicing. I described it in chapter four: Write out your prayers. Some people tell me they don’t need to schedule regular time for prayer because they get by just fine by praying on the run. These people are kidding themselves. Just try building a marriage on the run. You can’t build a relationship that way, with God or with another person. To get to know someone, you have to slow down and spend time together. So, after journaling has reduced my RPMs from ten thousand to five thousand, I flip all the way to the back of my spiral notebook and write a prayer. As with my “yesterday” entries, I limit my prayers to one page. This keeps the exercise from overwhelming me and ensures that I do it every day. It also takes a realistic amount of time, given the other responsibilities I face daily. Once I write out the prayer, I put the notebook on my credenza and kneel down. Not everyone is like me in this respect, but I find I pray much more effectively on my knees. I read the prayer aloud, adding other comments or concerns as I go through it. QUIET ENOUGH TO LISTEN By this time my RPMs are down to five hundred and I’m feeling really mellow. My heart is soft and I invite the Lord to speak to me by his Spirit. I’m quiet enough to hear if he chooses to speak, even if in a “gentle whisper,” as 1 Kings 19:12 says. It’s the third step to fully reducing your RPMs, this idea of listening to God. These moments in God’s presence are the ones that really matter because it is from here that authentic Christianity emanates, the unhurried, silent communing of God’s Spirit with ours. You can’t become an authentic Christian on a diet of constant activity, even if the activity is all church related. Ministry, Christian rock concerts, weekend conferences, church committee meetings—these all may be valuable, but they won’t serve you well as your primary source of strength. Strength is born of solitude. And in my experience decisions that change the course of your life usually come out of these holy-of-holies encounters.

GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 JOURNALING GUIDE


What is journaling? Journaling is the art of reflecting on one’s inner life based on a particular incident, a feeling, a recurring issue, or a prompting and connecting this to one’s relationship with God.

Why would journaling help your spiritual life? The process of spiritual growth engages all the faculties of your soul (your 5 physical senses, emotions, mind, will, and spirit). We need to pause daily to reflect on how we have responded to a certain situation, how we interacted with others, or how we feel inside and identify the reasons behind the feeling. Then we need to process these incidents in light of God’s Word. The key is to connect our daily life with its joys, surprises, disappointments, incidents, regrets, and sins with God’s promises and the reality of our personal relationship with God.

How do I journal? Spend about 15-20 minutes per day on one of the following journal topics by starting with the word YESTERDAY:

(1) Journaling based on feelings and processing the feeling in light of the Gospel:

§ Write on one of the following questions that seem most pertinent to you: o What am I sad about? o What am I angry about? o What am I guilty about? o What am I anxious about? o What am I disappointed about? o What am I frustrated or irritated about?

§ As you think about and write on the reasons behind the feeling, what would be the appropriate way to process that feeling in light of God’s Word? Think also about how Jesus is using what you are going through to draw you closer to Him.

(2) Journaling based on some interaction or event this past week that you

don’t feel settled about o What did you do? o Why did you do it? o How else could you have responded? o What would it have been to be at the receiving end of you? o Are there some truth that you are denying? o What does this reveal about yourself? Journaling based on a character issue:

Examples: My level of honesty: In what ways have I been dishonest, less than truthful with God, with myself, and with others?

GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 JOURNALING GUIDE


My level of pride: In what ways has my pride manifested itself in my relationship with God, with others, and specifically in ministry?

Example of Journaling Stream of Consciousness: Even though I have been a Christian for years, I feel like I don't know anything and all I do is mess up. The basic things that I should know and should be doing I fail to carry them out. Why am I such a fool?! Do I actually believe in the Gospel or am I just fooling myself? What is the point of all that I do to obey God? I just don't understand. The mistakes that I made as a brand new Christian are the exact same mistakes that I am still making. What is the matter with me? Am I ever going to change? Is there hope for me? How can I remain so unchanged?

Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations. But how come I don’t have such desire to carry out the great command? What is my problem? Where am I? Who am I? How come I just don't care about the things that Jesus cares about even though I am a confessing Christian? How could I possibly be so cold-hearted and uncaring to the world that is filled with millions of people who might go to hell? I have received the Gospel, but why am I so indifferent? I just don't know.

I also don't know why I have been ignoring all these feelings of guilt I have been holding in. I don't know why I have no sense of problem with these things that are eating me up. I don't know what's wrong with me. Am I an imposter? Have I never changed despite receiving the Gospel? I just don't know. Example of Disciplined Journaling with One of the Suggested Prompts: (1) Journaling based on feelings and processing the feeling in light of the Gospel:

What am I angry about? As you think about and write on the reasons behind the feeling, what would be the appropriate way to process that feeling in light of God’s Word? Think also about how Jesus is using what you are going through to draw you closer to Him.

YESTERDAY I got upset with my husband. We were discussing some ministry issues, and he rejected my idea and insisted on his. The issue was a minor one, but why did I respond so strongly, obstinately, and so disproportionately? It was so inappropriate. Why did I respond with such anger? I know I have a recurring anger issue. What is the source? What is the root of my anger issue? I think it is my deep-seated issue with my ego. When my idea is shot down, I consider that being “dismissed” by the person even though it was just a simple act of someone not agreeing with my idea because it was not the BEST choice. He wasn’t being unreasonable. He logically provided his reasons why his idea was a better choice than mine. Rather than seeing the issue objectively, I took it personally and emotionally. I have to admit that I got angry yesterday because my ego was hurt. The focus of the discussion should have been what is BEST for the ministry, but I have turned the focus on me. As I think about the reasons why he thought his idea was better than mine, I have to agree that he is right. I feel pretty bad for accusing him of pushing his agenda. That was really unfair. I need to apologize to him. LORD, please forgive me for the way I treated my husband. I want to humble myself and acknowledge my wrong before you and before him.

GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 MONDAY, JUNE 15


JOURNALING



PRAYER OF CONFESSION & COMMITMENT



BIBLE STUDY

GENESIS 1:28 (ESV) 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to

memorize the passage or a portion of it. You may want to read the surrounding passages in the Bible for context.

v What does this passage reveal about God, about man, or about life in general? What are some lessons you can internalize from the passage?

GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 TUESDAY, JUNE 16


JOURNALING



BIBLE STUDY

GENESIS 2:23–25 (ESV) 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman,

because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.




GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17


JOURNALING



BIBLE STUDY

GENESIS 3:17–19 (ESV) 17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you,

‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you;

in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face

you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground,

for out of it you were taken; for you are dust,

and to dust you shall return.”

v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to memorize the passage or a portion of it. You may want to read the surrounding passages in the Bible for context.

v What does this passage reveal about God, about man, or about life in general? What are some lessons you can internalize from this passage?

GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 THURSDAY, JUNE 18


JOURNALING



BIBLE STUDY

GENESIS 12:1–3 (ESV) 1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”



v What does this passage reveal about God, about man, or about life in general? What are some lessons you can internalize from this passage?

GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 FRIDAY, JUNE 19


JOURNALING



BIBLE STUDY

GENESIS 15:5–6 (ESV) 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to



GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 SATURDAY, JUNE 20


v Please review the passages from this week, and write out the passages you memorized.



JOURNALING



BIBLE STUDY

GENESIS 22:12–14 (ESV) 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





JOURNALING



BIBLE STUDY

GENESIS 32:26–28 (ESV) 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





JOURNALING



BIBLE STUDY

GENESIS 50:20 (ESV) 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





JOURNALING



BIBLE STUDY

EXODUS 3:7–10 (ESV) 7 Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





JOURNALING



BIBLE STUDY

EXODUS 14:13–14 (ESV) 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to



GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 SATURDAY, JUNE 27



GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 EXCERPT: MAKING ALL THINGS NEW


Solitude Nouwen, Henri J. (2009-10-13). Making All Things New. HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition.

If we really believe not only that God exists but also that he is actively present in our lives— healing, teaching, and guiding— we need to set aside a time and space to give him our undivided attention. Jesus says, “Go to your private room and, when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place” (Matthew 6:6).

To bring some solitude into our lives is one of the most necessary but also most difficult disciplines. Even though we may have a deep desire for real solitude, we also experience a certain apprehension as we approach that solitary place and time. As soon as we are alone, without people to talk with, books to read, TV to watch, or phone calls to make, an inner chaos opens up in us. This chaos can be so disturbing and so confusing that we can hardly wait to get busy again. Entering a private room and shutting the door, therefore, does not mean that we immediately shut out all our inner doubts, anxieties, fears, bad memories, unresolved conflicts, angry feelings, and impulsive desires. On the contrary, when we have removed our outer distractions, we often find that our inner distractions manifest themselves to us in full force. We often use the outer distractions to shield ourselves from the interior noises. It is thus not surprising that we have a difficult time being alone. The confrontation with our inner conflicts can be too painful for us to endure.

This makes the discipline of solitude all the more important. Solitude is not a spontaneous response to an occupied and preoccupied life. There are too many reasons not to be alone. Therefore we must begin by carefully planning some solitude. Five or ten minutes a day may be all we can tolerate. Perhaps we are ready for an hour every day, an afternoon every week, a day every month, or a week every year. … But we do not take the spiritual life seriously if we do not set aside some time to be with God and listen to him. …

In the beginning, solitude seems so contrary to our desires that we are constantly tempted to run away from it. … Creating an empty space where we can listen to God’s Spirit is not easy when we are putting all our energy into fighting distractions. By fighting distractions in such a direct way, we end up paying more attention to them than they deserve. We have, however, the words of Scripture to which to pay attention. A psalm, a parable, a biblical story, a saying of Jesus, or a word of Paul, Peter, James, Jude, or John can help us to focus our attention on God’s presence. Thus we deprive those “many other things” of their power over us. When we place words from the Scriptures in the center of our solitude, such words— whether a short expression, a few sentences, or a longer text— can function as the point to which we return when we have wandered off in different directions. They form a safe anchoring place in a stormy sea. At the end of such a period of quiet dwelling with God we may, through intercessory prayer, lead all the people who are part of our lives, friends as well as enemies, into his healing presence. And why not conclude with the words that Jesus himself taught us: the Our Father? [i.e., The Lord’s Prayer] … The more we train ourselves to spend time with God and him alone, the more we will discover that God is with us at all times and in all places. Then we will be able to recognize him even in the midst of a busy and active life. … Thus the discipline of solitude enables us to live active lives in the world, while remaining always in the presence of the living God.

GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 MONDAY, JULY 1


JOURNALING



BIBLE STUDY

EXODUS 20:1–17 (ESV) 1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. … 7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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BIBLE STUDY

LEVITICUS 19:1–2 (ESV) 1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to



GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 WEDNESDAY, JULY 1


JOURNALING



BIBLE STUDY

NUMBERS 6:24-26 (ESV)

24 The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to



GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 THURSDAY, JULY 2


JOURNALING



BIBLE STUDY

NUMBERS 14:6–9 (ESV) 6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the LORD delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to



GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 FRIDAY, JULY 3


JOURNALING



BIBLE STUDY

DEUTERONOMY 4:5–8 (ESV) 5 See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today? v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to



GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 SATURDAY, JULY 4





JOURNALING



BIBLE STUDY

DEUTERONOMY 6:4–9 (ESV) 4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to



GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 TUESDAY, JULY 7


JOURNALING



BIBLE STUDY

DEUTERONOMY 8:11–17 (ESV) 11 “Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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BIBLE STUDY

JOSHUA 1:6–9 (ESV) 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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BIBLE STUDY

JOSHUA 14:10–12 (ESV)

10 And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. 12 So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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BIBLE STUDY

JOSHUA 24:14–15 (ESV) 14 “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





JOURNALING



BIBLE STUDY

JUDGES 21:25 (ESV) 25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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BIBLE STUDY

RUTH 1:16–17 (ESV) 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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1 SAMUEL 12:23 (ESV) 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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1 SAMUEL 14:6–7 (ESV) 6 Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.” 7 And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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1 SAMUEL 15:22 (ESV) 22 And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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1 SAMUEL 16:7 (ESV) 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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1 SAMUEL 17:45–47 (ESV) 45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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2 SAMUEL 23:15-17 (ESV) 15 And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 16 Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the LORD 17 and said, “Far be it from me, O LORD, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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1 KINGS 18:21 (ESV) 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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2 KINGS 5:26 (ESV) 26 But he said to him, “Did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants? v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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2 CHRONICLES 16:9 (ESV) 9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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EZRA 7:10 (ESV) 10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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NEHEMIAH 4:14 (ESV) 14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the LORD, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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NEHEMIAH 8:9–10 (ESV) 9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our LORD. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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ESTHER 4:13-16 (ESV) 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to



GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 SATURDAY, AUGUST 1



GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 MONDAY, AUGUST 3


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JOB 1:20-21 (ESV) 20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to



GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 TUESDAY, AUGUST 4


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JOB 19:25-27 (ESV) 25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, 27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me! v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to



GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5


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JOB 38:1–11 (ESV) 1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: 2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, 7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, 9 when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, 10 and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, 11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’? v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to



GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 THURSDAY, AUGUST 6


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ECCLESIASTES 1:1–11 (ESV) 1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? 4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. 7 All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. 8 All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there a thing of which it is said,

“See, this is new”? It has been already

in the ages before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.

GRACEPOINT DEVOTIONALS 2015 FRIDAY, AUGUST 7


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ECCLESIASTES 12:1 (ESV) Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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ISAIAH 1:2–3 (ESV) 2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. 3 The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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ISAIAH 1:11–12 (ESV) 11 “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. 12 “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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ISAIAH 1:18 (ESV) 18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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ISAIAH 5:8–12 (ESV) 8 Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land. 9 The LORD of hosts has sworn in my hearing: “Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant. 10 For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.” 11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them! 12 They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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ISAIAH 6:1–5 (ESV) 1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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ISAIAH 9:6–7 (ESV) 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace

there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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ISAIAH 11:1–9 (ESV) 1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. 9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.



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ISAIAH 25:6-8 (ESV) 6 On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. 7 And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death forever; and the LORD God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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ISAIAH 29:13-16 (ESV) 13 And the LORD said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, 14 therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.” 15 Ah, you who hide deep from the LORD your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?” 16 You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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ISAIAH 30:9-11 (ESV) 9 For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD; 10 who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, 11 leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.” v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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ISAIAH 35:3-10 (ESV) 3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7 the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. 8 And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. 9 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. 10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.



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ISAIAH 40:1-20 (ESV) 1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” 6 A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. 9 Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”



10 Behold, the LORD God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. 12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? 13 Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel? 14 Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. 16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. 17 All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. 18 To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? 19 An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains. 20 He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.



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ISAIAH 40:21-31 (ESV) 21 Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; 23 who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. 24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,



and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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ISAIAH 41:10 (ESV) 10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to





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ISAIAH 42:1-4 (ESV) 1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. v Read today’s text several times. Reflect over the words, and allow the words to speak to you. Try to



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