And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen.

Always be joyful. 17Never stop praying. 18Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.19Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20Do not scoff at prophecies, 21but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22Stay away from every kind of evil.

Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness2:3a Some manuscripts read the man of sin. is revealed—the one who brings destruction.2:3b Greek the son of destruction. 4He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.

For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. 8Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed,

This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. 10He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. 11So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. 12Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.

never get tired of doing good.

Lord God my Father,

Soften my heart to release my stubborn arrogance and allow your Peaceful Truth to overwhelm me. Allow your Joy to be my guide and protect me from the deceiver. Allow your Peace to temper my desire to control.

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen

We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles4:3 Or powers; also in 4:9. of this world.4But when the right time came, God sent his Son,

Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. 16Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?

The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise.

What is important is faith expressing itself in love.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross,6:14 Or Because of him. my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.

Lord God my Father,

Help me to grow as you desire, remove from me my worldly desires. Allow you Joy and Peace to be my guide and your Truth to be my protection. Keep me from pushing your plan out of your design and place your Love in me as designed so your fruits rest well with me. May I only honor you and not own your plan that passes thru me.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

Galatians 1

6I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ.1:6 Some manuscripts read through loving mercy. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News 7but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.8Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. 9I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.10Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.

And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.

Lord God my Father,

Keep me from looking away from you and placing my desire above your plan. Keep me in your Truth so I may know deceit. Bring me into unity with others who desire you and use me for kingdom work.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: 29You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.”

So the churches were strengthened in their faith and grew larger every day.

 As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying.

A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison

There they met with the believers and encouraged them once more. Then they left town.

Lord God my Father,

Help me to keep my faith simple and not overthink your Truth. Give me strength every day to grow closer to your plan. Open my heart and give me discernment over false teaching and use me to encourage others.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone.

And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.”

So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.

But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you.

Lord God my Father,

Soften my heart to only be directed by you, remove my selfishness. Protect me from my own temptation and selfishness and remove it from me. Give me determination to only move in your desire. Allow your Peaceful Truth to test well and temper me to your plan. Help me to find obedience.

in Jesus name I pray,

Amen

“You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? 

Lord God my Father,

Allow your Truth to rest on my so I may turn from my evil nature and live in yours.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

“But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers

“Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings

Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. 35In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.

But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. 

Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God.

Lord God my Father,

Help me to not question your desire for me, make me obedient. Help me to accept your plan, a plan beyond understanding. Open my eyes so I may see and believe.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t.

“So God sent back the same man his people had previously rejected when they demanded, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’

No, you carried your pagan gods—the shrine of Molech, the star of your god Rephan, and the images you made to worship them. So I will send you into exile as far away as Babylon.’

“You stubborn people! You are heathen7:51 Greek uncircumcised. at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? 

Lord God my Father,

Help me to carry your wisdom as I meet others and protect me from my plan. Help me to sand firm in your plan. Keep me from turning to any other God and keep your place in my thoughts. Protect me from arrogance.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, 9are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? 

So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.

Why were the nations so angry? Why did they waste their time with futile plans?26The kings of the earth prepared for battle; the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.

 “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? 

“We must obey God rather than any human authority.

“So my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. 39But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!”

Lord God my Father,

Use me, fill me with your spirit and wisdom. Give me courage to boldly do your will and not be quiet in the face of evil desire. Allow you Peace to rest well on me and others who believe and not waste my time on worthless discussion. Keep me from testing you but to simply be obedient to your Truth.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

 And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,3:6a Or Jesus Christ of Nazareth. get up and3:6b Some manuscripts do not include get up and. walk!”

Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. 20Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah.

Lord God my Father,

Use me as a witness of your transforming power. Help me to use my brothers and sisters to keep in your plan together. Help me to call on the name of your son to restore me and inspire others. I turn from my sin nature and to your Loving Grace.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen