Get Up With God
highly caffeinated daily bible doses to help start your morning off right

Today, let’s pray like Jesus . . .

Go into your room,
close the door
and pray to your Father,
who is unseen.

Then your Father,
who sees what is done in secret,
will reward you.

And when you pray,
do not keep on babbling like the pagans,
for they think they will be heard
because of their many words.

Do not be like them,
for your Father knows what you need
before you ask him.

This, then, is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
(Matthew 6:6-13)

Recent surveys suggest that Christians spend shockingly little time with the Bible. Less than half have read it all the way through, less than 4 in 10 read it on a weekly basis, only 1 in 6 read it daily and only 1 in 7 regularly apply it to their lives.

I’m ashamed to admit that I was on the wrong side of those statistics for many years. As a result, I made lots of dumb decisions and stupid mistakes.

Don’t let that happen to you. Open up your Bible and listen to what our heavenly father has to say:

My son,
if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come
knowledge and understanding . . .

Then you will understand
what is right and just and fair –
every good path.
For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.
(Proverbs 2:1-6, 9-11)

For more on what the Bible contains and why you should spend more time with it than anything else on this planet, watch this video. (Note: If you experience any technical difficulties viewing this on your iPhone or other device, you may need to visit getupwithgod.com directly).

This week, we focused on prayer for the easily distracted (like me), using the acronym ACTS as a guide.

Here’s a handy summary. Pray through it right now with all your heart, soul and mind.

ACTS
A = Adoration
C = Confession
T = Thanksgiving
S = Supplication

ADORATION

Unplug from the world. Stop thinking about yourself and your circumstances and start thinking about God and his awesomeness.

Thoughts to think:

Be still and know that I am God.
(Psalm 46:10)

Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
(Psalm 103:1)

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
(Psalm 139:14)

Lord, I adore you because . . .

CONFESSION

Once we acknowledge how awesome God is, we become more aware of how sinful we are. Don’t let anything hinder your relationship with God and others. Confess your sins right now.

Forgive me, Lord, for . . .

THANKSGIVING

The Bible instructs us to give thanks in all circumstances. Now’s your chance.

Thank you, Lord, for . . .

SUPPLICATION

Pray humbly and earnestly and for all the needs around you. Seek God’s will, not yours. Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. Start with others. Finish with yourself.

Lord, I pray for . . .

Take all day if you have to. There’s no better way to spend your time.

This week, we’re focusing on prayer for the easily distracted (like me), using the acronym ACTS as a guide:

A = Adoration
C = Confession
T = Thanksgiving
S = Supplication

Today’s topic: THANKSGIVING.

Most of my prayers tend to be of the HELP! variety. The pattern goes something like this:

(Something bad happens.)

Me: Help!

(God answers my prayer. Then something bad happens.)

Me: Help!

(God answers my prayer. Then something bad happens.)

Me: Help!

(Repeat the above ad nauseam)

What’s missing? The THANKS! part. Waaaaaaaaaaay too often, I forget to express gratitude to God for all the wonderful answers to prayer he provides. It reminds me of when Jesus healed ten lepers and only one — a Samaritan — came back to thank him. Jesus’ response?

Where are the other nine?
Was no one found to return
and give praise to God
except this foreigner?
(Luke 17:17-18)

Take time right now to thank God for everything he’s done for you. Here are some verses to keep in mind as you do:

Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything.
(Ephesians 5:20)

Devote yourselves to prayer,
being watchful and thankful.
(Colossians 4:2)

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
(Psalm 100:4)

 Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.
(Philippians 4:6)

. . . give thanks in all circumstances . . .
(1 Thessalonians 5:18)

THANK GOD!

For the next few days, we’re focusing on prayer for the easily distracted (like me), using the acronym ACTS as a guide:

A = Adoration
C = Confession
T = Thanksgiving
S = Supplication

Yesterday, we started with Adoration. Today, we’re looking at Confession.

I’ll be the first to confess. I don’t confess nearly enough.

Here’s what the Bible says:

If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just
and will forgive our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness.
(1 John 1:8-9)

Once we acknowledge how awesome and perfect God is, we become more acutely aware of just how sinful we are. Confession helps us clear away the crud in our lives that displeases God and hinders our relationship with him and others.

Here’s a great model of confession from David, who was called “a man after God’s own heart” despite the fact that he was an adulterer and murderer. Pray through it with all your heart, rejoicing in the fact that you are 100% forgiven through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned.

[SPECIFY YOUR SINS HERE]

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.
(Psalm 51:1-4a, 10-12)

I recently took part in a rather creative 24-hour prayer chain organized by a local church. To help easily distracted people like me, participants were guided through four different theme rooms based on the acrostic ACTS:

A = Adoration
C = Confession
T = Thanksgiving
S = Supplication

Focusing on those four areas is a great way to jump-start your prayer life. That’s excactly what we’ll do this week.

Today’s focus: ADORATION. It’s a great place to start.

When was the last time you truly adored God?

Francis Chan urges us to stop everything we do as Christians and “take a long, hard look” at God before we pray another word. R.C. Sproul says: “Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God.”

Pray through these verses with an attitude of adoration . . .

Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
(Psalm 103:1)

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
(Psalm 8:3-4)

I praise you because
I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
(Psalm 139:14)

I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
(Psalm 145:1)

Through Jesus, therefore,
let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise –
the fruit of lips that confess his name.
(Hebrews 13:15a)

Want more? Watch this video by Francis Chan, entitled The Awe Factor of God. (Note: If you have trouble viewing this from your iPhone, etc., visit getupwithgod.com directly and click on the link there.) O come let us adore Him!

This week we discussed some of the world’s most-loved Bible verses, including the favorites of luminaries such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Joni Eareckson Tada, Billy Graham, Johnny Cash and even Mr. Rogers.

We also asked YOU to share YOUR favorite verses. Here are some of the responses I received. Thanks for sharing!

For the Lord gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
(Proverbs 2:6)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord,
he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.
(Proverbs 16:7)

If you have played the fool and exalted yourself,
or if you have planned evil,
clap your hand over your mouth!
(Proverbs 30:32)

How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?
(Genesis 39:9)

Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
(Matthew 7:7)

I tell you the truth,
whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me
has eternal life and will not be condemned;
he has crossed over from death to life.
(John 5:24)

Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
(John 6:68)

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(Romans 5:8)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith –
and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God –
not by works, so that no one can boast.
For we are God’s workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
(Ephesians 2:8-10)

Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.
(Philippians 4:6)

Be joyful always;
pray continually;
give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Got any other verses you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you. Shoot me an e-mail at getupwithgod1@yahoo.com. Thanks!

This week on GUWG, we’re examining some of the world’s favorite Bible verses.

Billy Graham has preached the gospel to more people than anyone in history. His favorite verse? It’s not too surprising . . .

For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish
but have eternal life.
(John 3:16)

Billy calls this verse the “gospel in a nutshell.” Don’t let familiarity rob it of its power. Go back and read through each word sloooooooowly and thank God for His awesome gift of salvation to all who believe. And then get out there and share the good news!

Got a favorite verse you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you. Shoot me an e-mail at getupwithgod1@yahoo.com. Thanks!

This week on GUWG, we’re examining some of the world’s favorite Bible verses and the impact they’ve had on people’s lives.

I grew up on a steady diet of the kind and gentle Mr. Rogers. If I’m honest, I probably spent more time listening to him than I did both my parents combined. (Sorry, Mom and Dad.)

Looking back, it’s hard to figure out Mr. Rogers’ appeal. He never did anything remotely exciting. There were no cartoons, no chase scenes, no zany humor. Pretty much just a guy in a sweater hanging out with some finger puppets and a trolley.

But maybe there was more going on than meets the eye . . .

Mr. Rogers was a deeply committed Christian who designed his show to teach basic biblical principles. Here was his favorite verse:

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.
(1 Corinthians 1:25)

Here’s how it applied to his life:

Whenever I write a script or a song or walk into the studio for a taping, I pray: “Let some word that is heard be thine.” That’s really all that matters.

Amen!

(Quotation from Lamp Unto My Feet by Art Toalston)

Got a favorite verse you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you. Shoot me an e-mail at getupwithgod1@yahoo.com. Thanks!

This week on GUWG, we’re examining some of the world’s favorite Bible verses and the impact they’ve had on people’s lives.

Here’s today’s selection . . .

He wrote more than a thousand songs and sold more than 50 million records. He’s the only performer who’s been inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He survived addictions to amphetamines and barbiturates and multiple jail terms. He won Grammys, he won Country Music Awards, he recorded best-selling albums when he was a septuagenarian.

His name? Johnny Cash.

In 1968, at the height of his popularity, Johnny tried to kill himself. Under the heavy influence of drugs, he descended into a cave, trying to get lost forever and “just die.” After passing out in the depths of the cave from exhaustion, he said he suddenly felt God’s presence in his heart and managed to find his way out by following a faint light.

Johnny gave his heart to Jesus a short time later in an altar call at a Nashville church. With the help of his future wife, June Carter Cash, he kicked his addiction to drugs. They married shortly thereafter and stayed together until their deaths in 2003.

Before he died, Johnny recorded several gospel albums and made an influential movie with Billy Graham about the life of Jesus entitled The Gospel Road. While he never stopped struggling with sin, Johnny repeatedly turned to God’s word for counsel. For him, it was a matter of life and death.

His favorite verse?

For if you live according to the sinful nature you will die;
but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body,
you will live . . .
(Romans 8:13)

Got a favorite verse you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you. Shoot me an e-mail at getupwithgod1@yahoo.com. Thanks!