Scripture and Prayer focus for September 13, 2026

 September 13 - John 7: 35-42 "The Jews said to one another, 'Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What does he mean by saying, 'You will seek me and you will not find me,' and 'Where I am you cannot come'?' On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'' Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spiriti had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. When they heard these words, some of the people said, 'This really is the Prophet.' Others said, 'This is the Christ.' But some said, 'Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?'"

Prayer focus for today: Pray today for discerning ears, hearts, and minds. Whether you have already been to church today, have yet to go, or will be listening/watching online, don't just be an attender, be a participant. Pray for active ears to listen and discern truth. Pray for hearts and minds willing to not just hear words, shake your head in agreement, or mutter and 'Amen!' -- actually pray that you will better understand who Jesus is and what He is asking of you as a Christian than you ever did before.  Pray for minds to accurately reason what the Scripture says with what your pastor says today. And lastly, but certainly not least, pray for each pastor around the globe who is laboring diligently over God's word, that he may stand worthy of bringing accurate messages that encourage and equip his flock. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for September 12, 2026

 September 12 -- John 7: 28-34 "So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, 'You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.' So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, 'When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?' The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and pharisees sent officers to arrest him. Jesus then said, 'I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.' "

Prayer focus for today: The people Jesus interacted with THOUGHT they knew what they were looking for when the Messiah came. They THOUGHT they understood the scriptures, but they were simply interpretting what they had been taught through the lens of what they had previously experienced - what they knew. We do the same thing today. No matter which continent you live on, you interpret God's word through the lens of what you know; what you have experienced. 

Pray today for God to help you more clearly understand the truth of His Word. Pray for understanding outside of yourself and what you know, to put on the new lens of clearer understanding into how to live for Jesus. Pray that you will no longer limit yourself by thinking you know and understand it all just because you can read the Bible -- if you really dive into the original culture and languages of the Bible, you'll see there is so much more to learn than just what we read on the surface. Pray for all of our Family Legacy staff to teach the truth with clear understanding to each child placed in our care - that each one would choose to believe and follow Jesus. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for September 11, 2026

 September 11 -- John 7: 21-27 "Jesus answered them, 'I did one work, and you all marvel at it. Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fahters), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.' Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, 'Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.'"

Prayer focus for today: Double-standards are something we all seem fine living out, yet can't STAND seeing in other people. Jesus was quick to point this out, and it ruffled feathers, to say the least. Pray today for a strong mind and heart to tackle the double-standards you allow in your life. Pray for eyes wide open to see the truth of following Jesus's ways, and let go of the rest. Pray for opportunities to reconcile with those whom you may have offended through the double-standards you allow in your life.

Scripture and Prayer Focus for September 10, 2026

 September 10 -- John 7: 14-20 "About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, 'How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?' So Jesus answered them, 'My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?' The crowd answered, 'You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?'"

Prayer focus for today: How many times have you heard someone speak and it becomes evident that they are just speaking so you will marvel at their knowledge?  Sadly, today there are even pastors, just as there were religious leaders in Jesus' day, who speak to try to bring glory to themselves, rather than simply be used of God to speak His truth ... that HE may be glorified. Pray today that we would all be humbled to speak ONLY for Jesus. Pray for wisdom, discernment, and humility to know Him more clearly and speak His truth in love, as Scripture commands. Pray that we would each take time to not just speak words in prayer, but truly sit and wait on Jesus ... listen to His voice ... don't rush on after YOU speak and miss the most important voice of all. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for September 9, 2026

 September 9 -- John 7: 8-13 "'You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.' After saying this, he remained in Galilee. But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, 'Where is he?' And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, 'He is a good man.' others said, 'No, he is leading the people astray.' Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him."

Prayer focus for today:  How often have you allowed the people around you or situations you are in to dictate how you respond in a situation?   We all speak more openly with "like-minded people" than with those in authority over us. We form our thoughts and opinions and often do not speak them out if we have any fear of ramifications from someone who might hear.  The people who were seeing Jesus and hearing about all He had done had formed opinions, yet were afraid to speak out because they feared the Jewish leadership. 

Pray today for wisdom to know when to speak and when to be still and let God work. Pray for confident discernment to speak the truth about what Jesus has done in your life -- YOU could be the reason someone accepts Jesus today!  Pray for those trapped in situations where they cannot speak the truth about Christ -- that the word may still go out to those around them and lives changed for eternity.

Scripture and Prayer Focus for September 8, 2026

 September 8 -- John 7: 1-7 "After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. So his brothers said to him, 'Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.' For not even his brothers believed in him. Jesus said to them, 'My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.'"

Prayer focus for today: Once again, Jesus clearly explains his mission ... and that of his followers, yet they didn't understand exactly what He was meaning with His words. Today, we're often the same. We read the Bible, we say we believe (and actually believe we believe), yet we want Jesus to act in accordance with what we THINK and KNOW. We tell Him to "do this" or "do that", often forgetting to simply ask Him to do what HE wants done and use us however He sees fit.  We expect Jesus to fix problems we brought on ourselves, when He just wanted us to obey Him in the first place. Just as Jesus said in verse 6 ... 'your time is always here', we each need to be about testifying about all Jesus has done and can do, according to His word and what we have witnessed, yet trusting Him with all the details. 

Pray today for faith to simply let Christ lead out. Pray for faith to follow right now and trust Him to fill in the details as the plan unfolds. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for September 7, 2026

 September 7 -- John 6: 65-71 "And he said, 'This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.' After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, 'Do you want to go away as well?' Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have beleived, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.' Jesus answered them, 'Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.' He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him." 

Prayer focus for today: Pray today for discernment to know who you follow and why. We are have so many choices to make today; pray for wisdom to make the right choice in the things that matter. Pray for true understanding of God's Word and courage to choose Christ NO MATTER WHAT. Satan will try to pull you away little by little through the choices you make ... pray we will all choose Christ and nothing less. If you or someone you know is struggling in this area, pray for wisdom, courage, and strength to resist the temptation to turn away from Jesus and know with all confidence that HE is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE.