Bishop Joseph E. Simmons. Senior Pastor

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2 PASTOR S NOTE Bishop Joseph E. Simmons Senior Pastor Lent is the Chris an season of prepara on before Easter. In Western Chris anity, Ash Wednesday marks the first day, or the start of the season of Lent, which begins 40 days prior to Easter (Sundays are not included in the count). Lent is a me when many Chris ans prepare for Easter by observing a period of fas ng, repentance, modera on and spiritual discipline. The purpose is to set aside me for reflec on on Jesus Christ - his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrec on. Please join me each day of Lent for a message of PREPARATION and IMPACT. Thank you for joining us on this exci ng 40-Day Journey! 2

3 Walk today in the ways that please God. INTEGRITY: The quality or state of being of sound moral principle; uprightness, honesty, and sincerity. Day 1 - Psalm 25:21: May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in You. Action: It is important that we live by the Word of God and being honest is one of the most important things to follow. Be honest today in everything you say and do!! Day 2 - Proverbs 4:25-27: Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you, make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Action: Few things are more infectious than a Godly lifestyle. The people you rub shoulders with need that kind of challenge. Day 3 - Proverbs 10:9: The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out. Action: We must be the same person in private and in public. Walk today in the ways that please God. Day 4 - Proverbs 11:3: The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. (deceit) Action: Integrity is built by defeating the temptation to be dishonest. Grow in humility and refuse to be deceitful. Day 5-1 Kings 9:4-5: As for you, if you walk before Me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe My decrees and laws, 5a) I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever. Action: According to Scripture, virtually everything that truly qualifies a person for leadership is directly related to his or her character. Make a difference in your character today!! Day 6-2 Corinthians 8:21: For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men. Action: Perhaps a good word to think of is consistency. God is totally consistent. Let your actions and behavior always match His character and nature. MOMENTUM: The strength or force that something has when it is moving. Day 7-1 Samuel 17:40: Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. Action: Stop worrying about what you don t have and use what you ve got to keep moving forward. 3

4 Day 8-1 Samuel 17:48-49: As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. Action: Don t run from your problems run to them and conquer them in the name and power of the Lord. Day 9 - Zechariah 4:10: Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. Action: Thank God for whatever progress you are making, no matter how small. Day 10 - Nehemiah 4: 6: So we rebuilt the wall till of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. Action: Dedicate your work unto the Lord. Refuse to allow the distractions of the enemy to take you off course! Day 11 - Col 3:23: Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as something done for the Lord and not for men. Action: Don t be a man pleaser. Remember that only what you do for Christ will last. Day 12-1 Sam 17:45: David said to the Philistine, You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty. Action: Vow not to be vindictive or to hold disagreements. Day 13-1 Corinthians 15:58: Therefore my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Action: Make sure that you are operating within your spiritual gifting within your own church get or stay involved! PRAYER: Spiritual communion with God. Day 14 - Philippians 4:6: Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Action: When you feel the tendency to worry DON T Pray instead! Day 15-1Thessalonians 5:17: Pray without ceasing. Action: Have an attitude of prayer today. Be prayerful all day. Breathe prayers (i.e., Lord help me. Thank you Lord.) Sentence prayers (i.e., Thank you for all you do for me. Lord help me to solve this problem.) Day 16 - Ephesians 6:18: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Action: Be sure to remember others in your prayers. Identify someone that you will pray for several times today. Day 17 - James 5:16: Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Action: Pray about establishing an accountability partner with whom you can share open and honestly. I f you have such a partner, thank God for them! Day 18 - John 15:7: If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. Action: Learn to speak God s Word back to m in prayer. He honors His Word. 4

5 Day 19 - Matthew 21:22: And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Action: Realize what both God and Jesus said about their work It is finished. So believe in the manifestation of your answer if it is in alignment with God s Word. Day 20 - Psalm 55:17: Evening and morning and at noon I will pray and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice. Action: Be a Daniel pray-er today. Take time to pray in the morning, at midday and in the evening. ACCOUNTABILITY: The fact or condition of being responsible. Day 21 - Matthew 7:3-5: Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother s eye. Action: Every judgment that we make becomes the basis for our own judgment. However, being open to correction makes us vulnerable, and many people are not willing to do that. Day 22 - Matthew 12:36-37: But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. Action: Accountability to God and to one another according to the directives of Scripture is the foundation for freedom and liberty. Day 23 - Luke 12:47-48: The servant who knows the master s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Action: You must decide if you are going to rob the world or bless it with the rich, valuable, potent, untapped resources locked away within you. Day 24 - Luke 16:10-12: Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else s property, who will give you property of your own? Action: A person who cannot handle money certainly cannot handle spiritual matters that are of much more value. Day 25-1 Corinthians 4:2: This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. Action: As stewards, believers manage the message and ministry God has entrusted to us. Day 26 - Hebrews 10:24-25: And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Action: Nothing 5

6 Your commitment does not depend on the honesty of others. on earth is more valuable to God than His church. Let s love and encourage one another. COMMITMENT: The state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc. Day 27 - Deuteronomy 10:12-13: And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? Action: Each believer is responsible to respond to God s call by committing your heart, mind, body, and life to serve Him, to share the Gospel. Will you be His ambassador today? Day 28 - Deuteronomy 13:4: It is the LORD your God you must follow, and Him you must revere. Keep His commands and obey Him; serve Him and hold fast to Him. Action: Every Christian should be conservative and radical; conservative in preserving the faith and radical in applying it. Day 29 - Joshua 9: Joshua made a mistake trusting the Gideonites, yet he still kept his promise to them because he knew how God felt about keeping your word. Their being deceitful had no bearing upon whether or not Joshua kept his commitments even though doing so still had significant consequences. Action: Your commitment does not depend on the honesty of others. Day 30 - Matthew 16:24: Then Jesus said to his disciples, Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Action: How you feel has nothing to do with whether or not you keep a commitment. Day 31 - Romans 12:1-2: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God s will is His good, pleasing and perfect will. Action: Making your life line up with God s will sometimes means fulfilling back commitments. Day 32-2 Timothy 2:22: Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Action: Your friends and culture do not have to agree with your commitment. Trust: Firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. 6

7 Day 33 - Psalm 4:5: Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the LORD. Action: Give away something today that you would really prefer to keep! Something financial or material that will truly be a sacrifice. Day 34 - Psalm 37:5: Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this. Action: Check your decisions today against God s Word and remember to involve Him in every important decision. Day 35 - Psalm 91:2: I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Whom I trust. Action: Vow to recognize God s protection today and do something you ve been putting off even if you have to do it afraid! Day 40-1Timothy 4:10: That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. Action: Put your best foot forward today. Whatever you do do it with excellence and unto the Lord. Bonus Day: Day 41 - Hebrews 2:13: And again, I will put my trust in Him. And again He says, Here am I, and the children God has given Me. Action: Determine that everything you say and do today will demonstrate that you are God s child and will represent Him well. Day 36 - Psalm 143:8: Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I entrust my life. Action: Be reminded of how much God loves you today and trust Him to guide your life. Day 37 - Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Action: Acknowledge that God has the answer to all of our problems and ask Him for wisdom in some specific problem/ issue that you are facing. Day 38 - Proverbs 16:3: Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and He will establish your plans. Action: Review you written action plans or goals for 2016 and evaluate where you are. If you have not yet established goals set at least 3 goals TODAY! GREATER ST. PAUL CHURCH 1827 Martin Luther King Jr. Way Oakland, CA P F @josephsimmons5 Day 39 - Jeremiah 17:7-8: But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. Action: Take some specific action to boost your God confidence today. Be reminded that our confidence is in God not in ourselves. 7