Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 26, 2026

 August 26 -- John 5: 22-29 "'For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Fahter. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.' 'Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.'"

Prayer focus for today:  Have you ever left one of your children in charge of the others while you went away for a short time?  Perhaps YOU were that sibling who was left in charge of the others or perhaps YOU were one of the children placed under the authority of your older sibling. Whatever the case, that authority came from a higher authority.

In today's Scriptures, we see Jesus (fully God and fully man; God the Son) describing the authority given to Him by His Father (God the Father). (We won't get into a deep discussion about the Trinity today, but just know it's there!)  Being fully God, Jesus spoke the truth in everything. He didn't always speak where everyone understood perfect all that He said, but He did speak truth. Today, let's each spend time in prayer asking for forgiveness for all the times we have failed to submit fully to God's authority over our lives. Follow that with a time of prayer asking God to show you areas where you still need to submit fully to His authority -- that you may live a more full life. Lastly, let's all pray for a more clear understanding of exactly who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him. Even if you've been a Christian since you were a young child, asking God to help you see more clearly who He is and what He wants you to do is crucial in living a more full life for Him!  Praying with you and for you every day!  We love you all. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 25, 2026

 August 25 -- John 5: 15-21 "The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, 'My Father is working until now, and I am working.' This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and give them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.'"

Prayer focus for today: Jesus was making it clear that He was just doing what He was supposed to do. He wasn't bound by earthly restrictions and "religious rules". He followed what God the Father told / taught Him to do. Pray today that you and I would grow in our walks of faith to be ready, willing, and able to faithfully follow what the Father tells us; He loves us and wants His will to be done in our lives. Pray we can each lay down the restrictions and barriers that we so often bring on ourselves. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 24, 2026

 August 24 -- John 5: 8-14 "Jesus said to him, 'Get up, take up your bed, and walk.' And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed. 'It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.' But he answered them, 'The man who healed me, that man said to me, 'Take up your bed, and walk.' ' They asked him, 'Who is the man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'? ' Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, 'See, you are well!  Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.'"

Prayer focus for today: Miracles happen every day. Often, we take them for granted and they go unnoticed, but they are still there. We breathe, solve problems, do our work, are spared the pain of unfortunate events that we aren't even aware of, and the list could go on and on. In today's Scripture passage, we see the man by the pool who was an invalid have a personal interaction with Jesus and be healed. Not all healing is physical. The most important healing any of us needs is spiritual.

Pray today for someone you know who needs to have that personal encounter with Jesus  -- that they would repent and seek forgiveness for their sins as they make the most important decision of their lives - to follow Christ. Pray today that you would not be caught up in "religion" like the Jews who saw this healing not as a miracle, but as a "sin" against their religious practices. Pray today that Christ would open your eyes to the miracles all around you - that you would encounter Jesus in a brand new way. Pray today for all the college students who are starting classes and those who have already started. Please lift up our daughter, Jaymeson, and her friends who are following in faith the path Jesus has laid out for them. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 23, 2026

 August 23 -- John 5: 1-7 "After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids -- blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, 'Do you want to be healed?' The sick man answered him, 'Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.' 

Prayer focus for today: Today's scripture passage shows us a perfect question from Jesus to the invalid man by the pool. A question that seems ridiculous at first, as we KNOW anyone with a disability would most certainly choose to be freed from it, if it was possible. However, it's a perfect question, because it's a question we ALL need to be asked over and over again. 

If you are a Christian, when you first chose to follow Jesus, He asked you the same question. "Do you want to be healed ... of your sin."  In that moment, your soul said, "Yes!"   Yet, how often do you still turn to those 'comfortable' sins?  The ones you allow Satan to convince you are "no big deal"? The ones you are so comfortable committing that you just overlook them? If you've never chosen to follow Jesus, He's asking you if you want to be healed ... we all pray you'll say, "Yes!" today. 

Pray today that God will open your eyes and your heart today to the true "healing" you need. It's different for each of us, so truly do some soul searching. He's able, He's ready, and He's willing to provide, so just answer Jesus with a resounding YES -- it will be the most healing 'yes' you've ever said!

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 22, 2026

 August 22 -- John 4: 46-54 "So He came again to Cana in Galilee, where He had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to Him and asked Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, 'Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.' The official said to Him, 'Sir, come down before my child dies.' Jesus said to him, 'Go; your son will live.' The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, 'Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.' The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, 'Your son will live.' And he himself beleived, and all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when He had come from Judea to Galilee."

Prayer focus for today: While we could easily focus on the faith of the official in this passage of Scripture, today we are going to focus on the impact the official's faith had on those in his household. Notice in verse 53, the Bible tells us that "he himself beleived, and all his household."  This is the key to every home -- that the father would believe and follow Jesus -- and his whole household would also be drawn to Jesus through the faith and leading of the father. 

Now, we certainly know that many homes today are not led by a father, so just know if you are a single mom, a grandparent, or another adult leading a home, the same can apply to you. When the one who leads the home comes to faith in Jesus Christ, it will definitely change the dynamic in the home where all in the household are drawn to Christ and choose to follow Him. 

Pray today that all households around the world would be changed by the head of the household choosing to turn from sin and faithfully follow Jesus Christ. Pray for strength when the enemy attacks and tries to distract. Pray today for your own household to all turn faithfully to not just SAY they believe in Jesus, but to faithfully live it out and change the world for HIM!

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 21, 2026

 August 21 -- John 4: 39 - 45 "Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, 'He told me all that I ever did.' So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, 'It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.' After the two days he departed for Galilee. (For Jesus himself has testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast."

Prayer focus for today:  "Seeing is believing" is a phrase used so often we really don't think about the meaning behind it, especially if we view it in line with our faith walk with Christ. The Samaritans believed in Jesus because of His words and His actions, but the key is ... they believed!  Pray today for those who have never known Christ to know Him and believe today. There are so many 'versions' of Christianity in our world today that Satan uses to distract and discredit, that we must be vigilant to study God's word and know the TRUTH of salvation in Christ alone. Pray today that you will become an even stronger warrior in the battle and make Christ known to all you encounter!  

Scripture and Prayer Focus for August 20, 2026

 

August 20 -- John 4: 31-38 "Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, 'Rabbi, eat.' But he said to them, 'I have food to eat that you do not know about.' So the disciples said to one another, 'Has anyone brought him something to eat?' Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.' "

Prayer focus for today: How many times do we, as humans, let ourselves get focused on the things that don't really matter.  Come on, if we were each honest, we spend WWAAYY too much time focusing on the little things in life that have no eternal consequences. I know I do. Pray today that we would each be honest with ourselves and before our God, asking Him to show us where our focus is off. Ask Jesus to show you what to focus on each day, so that YOU make the difference with your life, that you were created to make!  Joining you in the this prayer... today and everyday!  

And please pray today for our family, especially our daughter, Jaymeson, as she moves into her university today and starts life in America after being in Zambia for the last fourteen years!