Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 9, 2026

 August 9 -- John 2: 9-17 "When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, 'Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.' This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days. The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, 'Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade. His disciples remembered that it was written, 'Zeal for your house will consume me.'"

Prayer focus for today: Today's scripture concludes Jesus' first miracle (sign). We are told at the end of verse eleven that his disciples believed in him. Pray today that even when you don't SEE signs or miracles occurring, you will still believe.  Our human minds are limited and cannot comprehend all He is constantly doing. Pray for time to just BE STILL before God and to grow in your faith.

As Jesus and those with him travel on to Capernaum, we see Jesus display His holiness and total devotion to keeping the things that are holy -- HOLY! Pray today that you would never settle or compromise the things of God. Pray for your understanding of God and His ways to grow more complete today that you would never accept anything less than His perfect plan. And lastly, pray for each believer to always stand firm for what you know and believe as taught in God's Holy Word, the Bible.  May Christ's holiness shine through each place of worship today!

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 8, 2026

 August 8 -- John 2: 1-8 "On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.' And Jesus said to her, 'Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.' His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.' Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill the jars with water.' And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, 'Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.' So they took it."

Prayer focus for today:  The story of the wedding at Cana in Galilee doesn't tell us who got married ... because that's not important. It doesn't tell us who all the guests were ... because that's not the focal point of the story. The focus here is Jesus and faith in Him.  Even Mary is simply referred to as, 'the mother of Jesus.' Why?  Because the focus is Jesus. 

Although Jesus seems to dismiss His mother's request to help, He does a simple act of asking the servants to fill some jars with water - something they were probably accustomed to doing many times each day. He didn't ask them to go outside of what they knew. Mary didn't ask anything supernatural of the servants. She simply said, 'Do whatever He tells you.' And in that simple mandate, we, too, see what we're supposed to do today.  Do whatever He tells you ... and trust Him with the details. Pray today for faith to simply 'do whatever He tells you'. Pray for faith to trust Him completely ... even when you don't understand.

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 7, 2026

 August 7 -- John 1: 43-51 "The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, 'Follow me.' Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.' Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see.' Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, 'Behold ,an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit.' Nathanael said to him, 'How do you know me?' Jesus answered him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.' Nathanael answered him, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!' Jesus answered him, 'Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these.' And he said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

Prayer focus for today: This section of scripture reveals more about Jesus -- His perfect knowledge of each one of us and His desire to draw us to Himself through a personal relationship. We are not saved from eternal death through the town we are from, our family lineage, or what we've done. We are saved by believing in Jesus, turning from our sins, and choosing daily to follow Him.

Today, if you have not had a personal encounter with the One True God through Jesus Christ, His Son, pray you will know Him today and surrender your life fully to Him alone. If you have made that choice to follow Jesus, pray your faith will grow and you will more deeply cling to Christ ... no matter what the day brings. We love you and are praying for you!

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 6, 2026

 August 6 -- John 1: 35 - 42 "The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God!' The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, 'What are you seeking?' And they said to him, 'Rabbi' (which means Teacher), 'where are you staying?' He said to them, 'Come and you will see.' So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas' (which means Peter)."

Prayer focus for today:  As this chapter continues, we can see and hear the interactions between John and his disciples (followers) and Jesus. The story unfolds as a story before our mind's eye as we picture and can 'see' and 'hear' what is happening. They sought, they found, the followed. That personal interaction with Christ Jesus made the difference. The same is true today.

This is our prayer today -- that those who do not know Jesus will be drawn to understand their great need for Him. That they will find Him - right where they are. That they will choose to faithfully follow Him all the days of their lives because of their own personal interaction with Jesus. Pray that YOU will be used by God to tell others of Jesus so that personal interactions will happen!  How is your personal interaction with Jesus? Praying for each of us today to grow in our walk with Him.

Scripture and Prayer focus for August 5, 2026

 August 5 -- John 1: 29 - 34 "The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel. And John bore witness: 'I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.'"

Prayer focus for today: John told what he knew and was confident in every word being truth. Today, pray that God would give you and I bold confidence in what we know and believe - that we would speak the truth of Christ to all we meet. Pray that if any of us have any misunderstandings or twistings of God's word, that we would be humble and wise to let God reveal this to us and change. Pray that we would each keep our focus on proclaiming Christ - not ourselves - today. May He be recognized as the difference maker worldwide today - that all may be saved!

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 4, 2026

 August 4 -- John 1: 22 - 28 "So they said to him, "Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord.' as the prophet Isaiah said."  (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) They asked him, "Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing."

Prayer focus for today: John (traditionally known as John the Baptist) was under pressure from the priests and Levites from Jerusalem. They wanted to know exactly who he was....he answered giving an account of WHOSE he was. Today, may we all focus our prayers inwardly doing some deep soul searching. Pray today that you (we all) would be confident in Christ alone. Make sure you know the truth of Christ, not some watered down teaching that proclaims man, and not Christ. Pray that God would make clear the task(s) He has created you for that you may speak confidently in Christ alone. We're joining you in prayer!

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 3, 2026

 August 3 -- John 1: 15 - 21 "(John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.' ") For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.  And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No."

Prayer focus for today:  In a world of imposters, pray for each Christian to be authentic today.  Pray that you would stand firm in knowing the ONLY God -- and salvation through His one and only son, Jesus Christ. Pray that believers everywhere would know WHO they serve and be able to stand firm in their faith. Pray that when others see us, they know without a doubt that it is Christ whom we serve. Pray that those who are falling prey to an imposter will have their eyes opened to the truth of Jesus, and choose Him today.