Includes...
In Matthew 26:40-43 Jesus had asked his disciples to keep watch and pray with him while he was in the garden under the pressure of preparing for the cross. But when he returned to his disciples, he found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
God wants us to have willing hearts, that want to do what he asks of us, but our flesh is weak and can keep us from walking out the things that we know to do. We need power from him to walk out the things that we know to do.
Today's communion is a time of gratitude that God's grace is sufficient to help us walk out the things that we know to do. And we are asking him to help us not be led into temptation and for him to help is in our weakness, because his power is made perfect in our weakness.
Today's Health/Fitness Tip
One of the areas today's verses can apply to i...
The other night I was reading Psalm 102 and the last verse seemed to jump out at me.
Psalm 102:28 says, the children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you.”
While thinking about this I was reminded of a few other promises God has made for our children...
Isaiah 54:13 All your children will be taught by the LORD, and great will be their peace.
Isaiah 61:9 Their descendants will be recognized and honored among the nations. Everyone will realize that they are a people the LORD has blessed.”
Parenting is not always easy, so I find these verses to be very encouraging.
Today's communion is a time of gratitude for these promises God has made for our children.
Today's Health/Fitness Tip
I believe one of the goals of fitness should be moving like a kid again. This can be done through playing games, having fun, and training our ability to move, throw, run, and jump.
I am praying for you.
Daniel
Partn...
Lately we have been talking about the power of praise to turn situations around. Yesterday we talked about praising God for who he is, and I think another important part of praise is praising Him for what he's done. When we praise people, it is usually for their character, abilities, or things they have done. We can do the same with God.
There is so much God has done, but here is a short list to get us started...
I think this also needs to be made personal. It would be good to spend some time today thinking back on all God has done personally in our lives.
Today's communion is a time of gratitude and praise for both who God is and ...
We have been talking about the power of praise and the other day we said the Bible gives us something very specific to praise... God's name.
God has a lot of names in the Bible that describe who he is. As I was thinking about this, I had an opportunity to meet up with a friend I hadn't seen in a while. My friend told me my name had come up in a conversation he was having, and he wanted to verify that it was me, so he said you mean Daniel Foley... the fitness guy, the author, the blogger, the business owner, etc. He started listing things I have done.
When me friend told me this I started to understand why God has so many names, they help us know who he is and what to praise him for.
Here is a short list of things the Bible tells us God is(and there are a lot more)...
Jesus is…
Lately we have been talking about the power of praise and while thinking about this, I came across Acts 2:46-47 which is about the early church. The believers were constantly fellowshipping with one another, breaking bread in their homes, and praising God. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Praise was a key part of this.
Here is Acts 2:46-47...
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Today's communion is a time of gratitude that in the light we have fellowship with God and with one another. And we are asking God to help us walk in fellowship and praise, and for him to add to our numbers daily.
Today's Health/Fitness Tip
One of the exercises on the Daily Communion Workouts is walk...
Lately we have been talking about the power of praise to turn situations. And the Bible gives us something very specific to praise... God's name.
Over and over in the Psalms it says to praise God's name.
Psalm 103:1 Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Psalm 105:1 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.
Psalm 145:1 I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.
As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of all the names of God. Here are some of his names, and through praising his name I believe we can know him more.
Here is this week's Yearly Cycle Update.
Recently, we passed Pentecost, which I view as the midpoint or transition of the year on God's calendar. In the Spring we play offense and as we transition into this season it is a reminder to play defense. In the Spring we plant seeds, and this is the time to defend them from weeds, pests, etc.
God has released us from darkness and transferred us into the light, but we do need to defend our position in the light because life tries to knock us out of rhythm with God and out of the light. Fellowship with God and people is a big symptom of the being positioned in the light.
There is a saying in sports that the best defense is a good offense. We can play great defense by ramping up our praise. Gratitude and praise is one of the best ways I know of to defend our position in the light.
Here is this week's filter(reminder) to write at the top of our journals each day... Defend Your Position
I am praying for you.
Daniel
Lately I have been reading about the transition from David being king to Solomon taking over as king and the word "Dynasty," keeps standing out to me. I think there is something God is trying to show us about dynasty. Here are a few verses to meditate on today...
2 Samuel 2:27 For you, LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, have revealed this to your servant, telling him, "I will build a dynasty for you,' so that your servant has found fortitude to pray this prayer to you.
1 Kings 2:24 And now, as the Lord lives, the One who established me, seated me on the throne of my father David, and made me a dynasty as He promised.”
1 Kings 9:5 Then I will allow your dynasty to rule over Israel permanently, just as I promised your father David, 'You will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.'
I think the deeper meaning of these verses point to Jesus, that in Christ God wants to build a dynasty, because a dynasty means continuity from one generatio...
Lately we have been talking about the power of praising God. But I believe praise also needs to flow out to the people around us as well. When Paul was in prison it was praise that broke him free. Praise can turn situations around, and I think it can also turn relationships that are struggling.
My mom had a friend who raised several foster children from bad backgrounds and all of them were thriving as adults. When my mom asked her friend how she did it her response was... we praised the kids consistently.
My mom asked if they ever had a kid who they struggled to find something to praise. And her friend said that there was one kid who was always in trouble, but they liked the way he combed his hair, so they praised him for his hair and he slowly began to turn.
We often think that criticizing people and being hard on them makes them want to change. But God has shown me that it is grace that changes hearts and makes us want to change.
We have talked about the e...
Last night one of our partners brought up the examples of when Jesus said it wasn't his time yet. She said that in her own life there were things that she knew to do, but she found herself asking God if it was the right time.
One of our fundamentals is doing what we know to do. But knowledge does have a timing component. There are things that we know to do in life, but there is also a perfect timing of when they should be done. As I was thinking about this I was reminded of a section from my book The 8th Date, that discusses the difference between wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.
Here is the passage from The 8th Date...
What is Knowledge?
Proverbs 14:6 says that knowledge comes easily to a man of understanding.
Once we have wisdom and understanding, knowledge comes easily, because once the first two are in place, knowledge flows. Through knowledge, the deeps break open and our rooms are filled with precious treasure. Wisdom leads to understanding, which...
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