Friday Suggested Prayer

Present your requests and then focus on listening from God. Literally be silent and then listen for God.

Thursday Suggested Prayer

Pray for others by name. Pray for people at work or at school. Pray for people on your Fellowship Team. Pray for your relatives. Pray for your church and people in your church.

Wednesday Suggested Prayer

Pray for some specific needs in your life.

What is it that matters to you? Or concerns you? Whatever it is, talk to God about it. Are there some ways that you want to be used by God? Do you have economic concerns or job concerns? Are there some relationships in your life that need God's intervention? Do you have marriage struggles? Or maybe you're not even sure if God is really there or not?

Wherever you are at today and whatever you are struggling with talk to God about it. God wants to hear from you today. Connect with Him today through prayer.

Need Prayer?

Remember that there is a new way to share your prayer requests with us. Look for the "Please Pray For Me" heading the right sidebar area of the blog and click on the link to fill out and submit it.

Psalm 5:1-3

I am personally so grateful that God has not only created us to be in relationship with Him but that He has given us His Word and prayer as tools to actually be in relationship with Him. I don't know about you, but it's another Monday morning and it's good to be on God's side.

Suggested Monday Prayer

Spend time thanking God for who He is and for what He has done for you. Tell Him some specific things you are thankful for.

Ready, Set, Go #4: Staying Connected Through Prayer

The Think It Through for this week can be found here.

Make Your Declaration

Make your declaration to God to be in His Word on a consistent basis this year. Go here and proclaim your intention by posting a comment (anonymous or not).

Hebrews 4:12-16

As I read Hebrews 4:12-16 this morning, I was reminded of how often I can try to hide from God. I hide because I want to do my own thing, in my own way - I am simply drawn towards selfishness. Selfishness that leads me further away from God. But His Word is designed to draw me back to Him so that He can teach me and show me what His will is.

When God says that His Word is living and active, and since Jesus is the Word, that is synonymous with saying that Jesus is living and active. I am so grateful that we worship a God who is living and active TODAY through His Word Jesus Christ. And through that I have a chance today to put aside my selfishness and my pride and to instead be righteous.

How did God speak to you through His Word today? Share it with others.

Jesus' Promise

I love what Jesus says in John 15:4 -

Remain in me, and I will remain in you.

Jesus says that He will be with me when I make a pointed effort to remain in Him (to be connected to Him). That means that if I do my part then Jesus promises to always be connected to me in all that He asks me to do. Imagine, Jesus being in all I do today - that's the promise. I'm holding on to that one.

What did God teach you today in His Word? Have you committed to "remain in Him?" Consider making a public commitment (can be anonymous if you prefer) to be connected to Jesus through His Word by posting a comment to this blog post. It would be an encouragement to everyone to know that we are all doing our part to be in God's Word because when we are connected to God at an individual level that will "bubble up" to the church level and God will use us as a part of His church to do His work.

I read this today in my daily time with God this morning: "There is a great difference between 'living the Christian life' and allowing Christ to live His life through you."

And in order for Christ to live through us we must be ones that are internalizing the very words of God.

Uganda Slideshow

In case you missed the "Experience Uganda OneLife Time" last Friday, you can check out the slideshow video that Carolyn Griebe put together. Thanks to Carolyn Griebe for sharing her OneLife with us.

Ready, Set, Go #3: Staying Connected

The Think It Through for this week can be found here.

Remember to be thinking about your structured plan for staying connected to God through His Word. Here are some sample plans to consider.

Also, consider making you commitment to God to not neglect His Word by posting a comment here.

I Will Not Neglect God's Word

Psalm 119:16 (NIV)
I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

Are you willing to make a commitment to God to not neglect His word? If you are, post a comment to this blog entry and make your declaration.

Barnabas and Saul

I just got done reading Acts 11:19-30 and the thought that came to my mind was just that I am so thankful that God used Barnabas and Saul to take the gospel to non-Jews and that as a Gentile I have been grafted into God's family. And God used men like Barnabas and Saul to do it. They taught people just like you and me to be disciples and to be the church.

Acts 11:26 - and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

Now it's our turn to be Barnabas and Saul in our world.

Faithwalker Teachings

The teachings from the Faithwalkers conference have been posted here. I personally wasn't able to go nor have I listened to any of these yet, but I hear form others that there were a lot of really great teachings. We hope you are blessed by what you find.

Reminder: Experience Uganda OneLife Time

Just a reminder the Experience Uganda "Onelife Time" will be this Friday evening from 7:00 - 8:30 pm at OneLife Center. It is always encouraging to see how God is working all over the world. Come and see what He is up to in Uganda, Africa.

Why Peter?

As I read our reading in Matthew for today (Matt. 16:13-20), I was struck with the question: Why Peter? After all, Peter wasn't perfect, he was just an ordinary fisherman, he made mistakes all over the place and yet Jesus singled him out and proclaimed that He would build His church on Peter and those like Peter. Why?

Maybe the key is in verse 16. Peter made a bold proclamation of who Jesus was - "the Son of the living God." That was Peter's true heart. And yeah, at times Peter forgot that and he reverted to his weaknesses and he messed up. But underneath all of it, Peter knew who Jesus was.

Maybe that's "Why Peter?" And maybe that's what Jesus desires from us also - to be connected to Him to the point that we can make the same bold proclamation.

God's Holy Temple

Ephesians 2:19-22

What a privilege and what a responsibility we have to together be God's temple. And it all seems to center on the "Chief Cornerstone" - Jesus Christ. It seems that part of the key is for each of us to stay connected to Christ individually so that we can be united together through the Spirit and together be a representation of who God is.

And to think that God has the faith in us to trust us with all of that. But we have to do our part - stay connected to Christ.

How can you stay connected to christ today?

Simple Church

There not be a simpler description in the church as we read in Acts 2:42 -

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

What am I devoting myself to and what are we devoted to as a church? Are we ones that are devoted to hearing and reading God's Word (apostles' teaching), to one another (fellowship), to remembering our Savior (breaking bread), and talking and listening to God (prayer)?

Are we devoted to the simple disciples of being a disciple of Jesus - a "Jesus follower?"

Courage

As I read Acts 4:1-20 today, I was astounded at the courage of Peter and John. They were unwavering in their faith. I mean, to make the bold statement in verse 12 that Jesus is the ONLY way that one can find salvation - they were either insane or they were prepared to suffer the consequences for making such a statement. There's no other ways to explain it. They knew the danger that was in this statement and yet they said it anyway.

They knew the truth and they chose to proclaim it - that takes courage that can only come from being solid in their conviction of who Jesus was.

And so I must ask myself, how willing am I to proclaim truth even though the consequences can be unpleasant in doing so?

What do you think, is it worth sharing the truth about Jesus in our culture today even though the consequences may be unpleasant?

Ready, Set,Go: The Church

The Think It Through for this week can be found here.

Our New Home

Welcome to the new home for Day Seven Church Think It Through. We hope what you find here will be a blessing. We encourage you to make comments and share what God is revealing to you throughout the week as you engage with Him.

The Think It Through blog for Summitview can still be found at thinkingitthru.blogspot.com

Bible Reading Plans

Do you have a Bible reading plan for 2009? There is nothing that can prepare us better for the coming year than being in His Word.

Here are some resources that may help you in seeking God on a daily basis in the year to come.

Reading Plans to download:
Bible in a Year Plan
Bible in a Year - Chronological Plan
Biographical 4 Month Plan
61 Day Bible Highlights Plan
61 Days of Chronological Bible Key Events Plan
31 Days with Jesus Plan

One Year Bibles for purchase:
One Year Compact Bible - NIV
One Year Chronological Bible - NIV
One Year Bible - NLT
One Year Bible - ESV

Online resources:
One Year Reading Plan on YouVersion (also specific iPhone and Blackberry and mobile versions)
Bible Gateway Reading Plans
Daylights Devotional (there is also a one year plan at the bottom of each daily devotional reading)

How could God work in us and through us, if we would each be devoted to His Word on a daily basis?