Luke 10

Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan.

INSIGHT
The harsh reality of life is that we cannot help everyone in need. From the parable of the Good Samaritan, we can learn several things which help us evaluate when we should help. We are obligated to assist a person in need when he or she comes across our path in the normal course of life; he or she has a legitimate need, not of his or her own making; he or she cannot help himself or herself; and we have the ability to meet the need.

PRAYER
We praise the Lord because He is faithful to bring us to spiritual maturity:
O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory (Psalm 63:1-2).

Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. As you seek to keep your life free from sin, pray this confession to the Lord:
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones which You have broken may rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities(Psalm 51:7-9).

As you consider God's mercy, confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation
or shadow of turning (James 1:17).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
spiritual victory over the temptation you face,
reformation in America and the world at large,
your activities for the day,
whatever else is on your heart.

Offer these closing prayers to the Lord:
Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days! (Psalm 90:14).

Mark 9

Jesus is transfigured as a validation of His identity as the Deity and Messiah.

INSIGHT
The Transfiguration gives us an exciting glimpse into our resurrection life. From it, we may learn several things. Our physical bodies may be startlingly brilliant and beautiful, as we witness the amazing appearance of Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. We may know each other automatically since the disciples seemed to recognize Moses and Elijah without instruction. We apparently will not be subject to the physical limitations of nature since Moses and Elijah appeared and disappeared. What a joy awaits us in eternity!

PRAYER
Use this passage of Scripture to offer your praise to the Lord, who transforms us into the image of Christ:
I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together(Psalm 34:1-3).

As you seek to keep your life free from sin, pray this confession to the Lord:
O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself;
It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
O Lord, correct me, but with justice;
Not in Your anger, lest You bring me tonothing (Jeremiah 10:23-24).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pause to pray this passage of affirmation:
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
There is no searching of His understanding.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might
He increases strength (Isaiah 40:28-29).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
greater wisdom in decision making,
your activities for the day,
whatever else is on your heart.

Finally, offer this closing prayer:
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen (1 Timothy 1:17).

Mark 8

Jesus uses the miracle feeding of the 4000 as a teaching tool for His disciples.

INSIGHT
After feeding the 4000, it is obvious that the disciples do not understand the significance of the event. Jesus says, "When I fed the 5000, how many loaves did you pick up afterward?" His disciples reply, "Twelve." Then again, "When I fed the 4000, how many loaves did you pick up afterward?" "Seven," they answer. "Do you not yet understand?" the Lord asks them. Then, some days later, Jesus is alone with the Twelve, and He asks them, "Who do you think I am?" Peter replies, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Finally, progress!

PRAYER
Offer your praise with the following psalm to the Lord who is faithful to us when we are weak:
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night. . . .
For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands (Psalm 92:1-2, 4).

As you seek to keep your life free from sin, pray this confession to the Lord:
Return to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm (Joel 2:13).

As you consider the mercy of God, confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:
You are the door. If anyone enters by You,
he will be saved, and will go in and outand find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill,
and to destroy. You have come that we may have life,
and that we may have it more abundantly (based on John 10:9-10).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
greater faithfulness with your finances,
the President and national leaders and affairs,
your activities for the day,
whatever else is on your heart.

Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands (Psalm 90:17).