April 8, 2019
Hebrews 10:19-25 New Living Translation (NLT)
Today is the twenty-ninth day of our 40-Day Lenten Series, “Praying for a Kingdom Heart.” Lent should be a time of prayerful reflection, repentance, and restoration as we draw closer to the heart of God. Scripture teaches spiritual struggles will be a part of the Last Days before Christ comes for us. We face struggles now and we will face struggles in the future. Therefore, we must persevere, because we cannot allow the enemy to rob us of our faithful walk with Christ. Do you know what helps Christ’s followers overcome the struggles? Meeting together in worship, because there we grow in our relationship with God, we can share our faith, draw upon the faith of others, motivate one another, and receive help when we need it most. Where two or more are gathered in his name, he is in our midst (Mat 18:20). Jesus is our High Priest and he makes a way for us to connect and remain strong and vigilant. Do you realize the great value of meeting with other believers in praise and worship?
During Lent, we will be using the acronym P.R.A.Y. as we pray for a Kingdom Heart. P=praise, R=repent, A=ask, and Y=yield. May God bless you as you spend time in God’s Word and in prayer today.
Hebrews 10:19-25 A Call to Persevere
19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Prayer: Lord, I praise you for being my High Priest; for cleansing and purifying me so I may come boldly to the throne of grace to receive from your righteous hand. I repent for not always telling others in my spiritual care of the immense importance of attending worship. I should tell them it is essential to their ability to persevere. I ask for you to help me create worship environments that are full of the Spirit and relevant to life. I will yield as you use me to create these times for your people to experience healing and regeneration. In Jesus’ name. Amen.