One Minute Memory Verse: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 –
Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.
One Minute Bible
1 Peter 3:1-7 NIV
Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way of the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
One Minute Prayer
Lord, rid me of anything that hinders my relationship with you, even if I don’t fully understand the hinderance, and even if I may not fully agree. Teach me obedience that I may grow in your grace.
One Minute Praise
Psalm 34:14-22 NIV
Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
And his ears are attentive to their cry;
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them.;
He delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
A righteous man may have many troubles,
But the Lord delivers him from them all;
He protects all his bones.
not one of them will be broken.
Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
The Lord redeems His servants;
No one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him.
One Minute Wisdom
Proverbs 18:10-12 ESV
The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe.
The wealth of the rich is their fortified city;
they imagine it is an unscalable wall.
Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud,
but humility comes before honor.
One Minute Devotional
One rarely hears the passage from Peter (above) preached from a pulpit. If it is mentioned at all in Christian discussion, it is justified as a cultural reference that was made before Christians were enlightened; it doesn’t really – they say – apply to twenty-first century Christians.
The purpose of this study is not to give you a list of rights and wrongs, and if I told you, “Yes it applies today” or “No, it doesn’t apply,” it would take away the emphasis from the point I would like to make. Here, Peter is warning families to treat each other with respect. Isn’t it awful that we often treat strangers and acquaintances with more dignity than we do our spouses and children?
The reason Peter warns husbands and wives about their behavior catches my attention. The reason we are to treat one another with love and respect is so that we maintain a witness to those who love us and so that we don’t hinder our relationship with God. I am so thankful for my spouse and my children. And, for the family of God. I am glad to be a part of the family of God, washed in His fountain, cleansed by His blood…
One Minute Memory Verse: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 NIV –
Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.
One Minute Bible
Luke 18:1-8 ESV
1And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
One Minute Prayer
Lord, teach me persistence in prayer.
One Minute Praise
Psalm 27:1-6 ESV
A psalm of David.
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
Five Minutes in My Prayer Closet
Jan 5, continued
One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
One Minute Wisdom
Job 2:11-13 ESV
When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him, they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
One Minute Devotional
Job’s three friends did not always give him good advice. At times, they seemed as much the antagonist as Satan in this story. In the passage above, though, his friends displayed great wisdom in their silence. Sometimes, nothing helpful can be said. Sometimes, it is just enough to know that a friend is present.
The same can be said of God. At times, especially in times of distress, it is just enough to enter His presence and sit silently. Even in times of great joy, it is sometimes enough just to bask in the presence of God, our daddy.
The key to living in God’s presence is remembering that we do not have to enter into it (His presence). He lives in us. He is always present, even when you don’t “feel” Him, even if we don’t “want” Him present.
There is great comfort in His presence. I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses. And, the voice I hear… is His alone.
Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.
One Minute Bible
1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 NIV
Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
One Minute Prayer
Jesus, Teach me the importance of prayer.
One Minute Praise
Psalm 8 NIV
For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.
Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
Five Minutes in My Prayer Closet
Jan 4, continued
You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
One Minute Wisdom
Proverbs 15:8-11 NIV
The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked,
but the prayer of the upright pleases him.
The Lord detests the way of the wicked,
but he loves those who pursue righteousness.
Stern discipline awaits anyone who leaves the path;
the one who hates correction will die.
Death and Destruction lie open before the Lord—
how much more do human hearts!
One Minute Devotional
Whenever a Christian sets his or her heart toward God, Satan interferes. Since the fall of Man, it has been the same. I am Adam; I am Man. I have fallen countless times, and I likely will again. Yet, if we are aware of some of the dangers inherent in beginning a journey like this one: prayer, fasting, devotionals, and learning an in-depth journey through Scripture, we can possibly avoid such falls.
Let me give you a peek at two people I know who have undertaken this journey and forewarn you of the results of one that didn’t end up so well.
Mona Jacobs was in her nineties. She had learned to pray continuously; her every thought was a prayer to God. She was humble, meek, and had a glow about her. As faithfully as the sun rose daily, God revealed to Ms. Jacobs new areas in her life that she must surrender to Him. She never quit growing closer to her Master.
Arthur, on the other hand, undertook the same journey: to learn to pray continuously so that he might grow closer to God. The last I saw of him, he was proud, vain, unyielding, argumentative, a bully, and convinced that he had been perfected.
The truth of the matter is this: left to our rebellious, human ways, we would all be Arthurs. Lord, build my hope on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
