Scripture for the week:
If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. Psalm 66:8

Friday reading:
John 4

key verse (s): John 4:21-24

observations & questions:
21-24  The scene here is Jacobs well.  It was a sacred place to the Mediterranean world.  In view is Mount Gerizim a holy place for the Samaritans and Jesus speaks of the temple in Jerusalem.  The end result is Jesus tells this woman that true worshipers worship in Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is the key to worship according to Jesus here not a location.


Worship is found when the giver of living water gives life to the worship.



application or concept:
The key to worship is the presence of the Holy Spirit.

prayer:
Lord show us how to cultivate the presence of the Holy Spirit in our worship.

Learning Agenda:
google for readers blogs

So you are in a slump. You had a bad day, week, maybe even year. You got hurt, betrayed, disappointed by another. You were criticized, talked about, belittled. You disappointed yourself. You messed up, you did something stupid that hurt you or those you love. So how do you move on?

The first step is to welcome yourself to the human race—to recognize that to err is to be human, to sin is to need grace, to suffer is to share in Jesus sufferings. As David recognized in the Psalms, the pain will refine you…let it. Go over your past behavior, look over your regret, examine your betrayal and choose to learn from it. As John Maxwell says, “if you are going to fail, fail forward.” (not an exact quote, but close) 

Then get up, and get moving: Literally… go for a walk, a jog, a good, hard workout. Get out your Bible, read of Gideon stepping up, or Moses seeing God use him after his failures, or David taking on Goliath. Then do the same. Make a new plan. Put yesterday behind you. “Take up your cross then follow me” as Jesus said. 

Today is a new day. Your future is brighter than your past. So focus on your future, put your past behind you and remember… What you focus on, you get more of. Focus on the pain, you get more pain. Focus on the lesson, you get more future. 

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 NIV

from Bill Cornelius blog.

Prayer:
Lord I do worship you today.  Thank you for your grace, your mercy, and your love.