Daily Devotional By Archbishop Foley Beach

Jesus Went by Himself to Pray

Message Summary:  Immediately, Jesus made His Disciples get in a boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side while Jesus dismissed the crowd. After Jesus dismissed the crowd, He went up on a mountainside, by Himself, to pray. He was alone with His Father. In Mark 1:35, Jesus prayer life is presented: “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed.”. If there is one Christian discipline that is neglected by Christians of today, it is the practice of getting alone with God and having a quiet time to pray -- not you and your computer; not you and a friend; but only you and God alone in your prayer. We can learn a great deal from King Hezekiah, in Isaiah 37:15-17a about his personal relationship with God, through personal prayer, as he is faced with a powerful invasion of Israel: “And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: ‘O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear.’”.

Today’s Affirmation: Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Fear. Rather, I will abide in the Lord’s Faithfulness. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).

This Sunday’s Sermon: You can listen to Archbishop Beach’s Current Sunday Sermon: “Pentecost -- Be Ye Filled with the Holy Spirit”, at our Website: www.AWordFromTheLord.org/listen/.

Website Link to the Video – “Pentecost – The Day of the Holy Spirit; the Promise Fulfilled” (All Saints Anglican Church; Peachtree City, GA):  https://www.lightsource.com/ministry/a-word-from-the-lord/

Scripture Reference (ESV): John 17:1-5; Matthew 26:36-40; Isaiah 37:14-17; Psalms 127:1-5.

Praying Through the Son

Website Link to Archbishop Beach’s Video Sermon – “Taking Care of Our Interior Life Through Exercising Our Mind:  https://www.lightsource.com/ministry/a-word-from-the-lord/ (Note: This link is to both an introductory One-Minute Video Clip and the complete video Sermon.).

Message Summary: As Christians, God sees us, positionally, through Jesus. Therefore, God sees us as being in Jesus. God does not see us with all our frailties and life messes -- He sees us in Jesus. Because we are in Jesus, God sees us as His sons and daughters. In our prayers, therefore, we pray in the Holy Spirit; and we come to the Father through the name of Jesus -- praying through the Son. In Jesus’ Great Commission to us in Matthew 28:19, Jesus both instructs us regarding how His followers are to relate to our Trinidadian Deity of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit while, at the same time, making clear His place, as The Son, in the Trinity: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit . . .".

Today’s Affirmation: Today, because of I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I will not be controlled by my Compulsions. Rather, I will walk in the Spirit’s fruit of Patience. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22f).

Scripture Reference (ESV): Jude 1:20; Matthew 6:9-15; Ephesians 6:18; Psalms 72:1-20.