“My son, do not lose sight of these— keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3:21-26‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/bible/59/pro.3.21-26.esv
All,This stands out because Solomon says, “If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” Wow! Have you ever had a full year of peaceful sleep every night? I haven’t. I get caught up in thinking about circumstances, but God says keep sound wisdom and discretion. Sound wisdom implies seeking truth and the truth is God has a eternal plan for us that no circumstances or fear can thwart. Please pray that we and our friends seek truth in all the information we take in. Please pray for Jonnell and Devon’s group.

“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭2:1-7‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/bible/59/pro.2.1-7.esv
All,This stands out because Solomon says, “if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom”. How many times are you thinking through a issue and remember that God gives wisdom? He gave us a mind to use, but He also gives us His wisdom and it seems silly to not ask Him. Please pray that we and our friends search for God as if for hidden treasure today. Please pray for the country as it gets moving again.

“Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭1:20-23‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/bible/59/pro.1.20-23.esv
All,This stands out because Solomon says, “If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.” Do you seek God’s wisdom for a decision today? Certainly we wouldn’t lean on our own feeble understanding when we could get direction from God. He wants to make His Words known to us, but have we turned at His reproof? Please pray that we and our friends find comfort in relying in the Lord’s direction today. Please pray for those who are living in fear.

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.”
‭‭Jonah‬ ‭3:1-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/bible/59/jon.3.1-5.esv
All,This stands out because Jonah says, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”. Does God ever nudge you to do something that you do not want to do? We all know the story of Jonah and the fact he didn’t want Nineveh to repent because he wanted them destroyed, but God loved Nineveh and wanted them to repent. So Jonah obeyed God and they repented. Please pray that we and our friends follow God’s nudges and witness His power once we do. Please pray for the CLC groups that are continuing to meet over zoom.

“Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.””
‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭3:20-21‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/bible/59/ezk.3.20-21.esv
All,This stands out because the Lord says, “But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning”. Jesus announced his ministry by saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. People do not like to think about sin, but repentance is so freeing. If we never call something a sin, we are harming the person in sin and not showing them and us the path of peace through repentance. Please pray that we and our friends follow God’s nudge and expose sin when prompted with gentleness. Please pray for all those who are living in fear right now.

“My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:20-26‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/bible/59/lam.3.20-26.esv
All,This stands out because the writer of Lamentations says, “ The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”. Do you ever wake at night with something on your mind? I do. No matter how much I think about the issue, I don’t get rest until I remember that God is God and I’m not. Is it pride that makes us think we are in so much control? Do we worry about the gravitational pull of the earth stopping or the moon slipping off its orbit? No. Please pray that we and our friends rejoice in the ability to be about God’s purpose in whatever path we are on. Please pray for those without hope in dark times.

“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭148:1-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/bible/59/psa.148.1-5.esv
All,This stands out because the psalmist says, “For he commanded and they were created.” How does all of this get formed by God speaking? It’s a good thought to ponder when we’ve lost the awe of just who God is? When God is the most powerful, our circumstances are not, but the opposite is true also. Please pray that we and our friends remember all day just who God is. Please pray that many people will realize the gift Jesus gave to everyone this day, thousands of years ago, by being the perfect lamb that took away our sins and allows us to abide in Him.

“Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre! He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry. His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭147:5-11‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/bible/59/psa.147.5-11.esv
All,This stands out because the psalmist says, “the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.” How fitting for Easter to be this Sunday after this time of reflection that the whole world has had? Christ’s ultimate gift for us to cleanse us by His ultimate sacrifice will take more meaning in more hearts this Sunday. How many more people now have their hope in Christ? Please pray that we and our friends share that hope with one person that we know who is living in fear. Please pray fervently for our nation over the next three days and all those who do not know Jesus yet.

“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭146:5-10‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/bible/59/psa.146.5-10.esv
All,This stands out because the psalmist says, “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever”. Do you need to remind yourself who God is before you pray and put your hope in Him? I do. He made the heaven and earth. He has seen this day, tomorrow, next year and the next 10,000 years. None of this is a surprise to Him and He wants give us His Fruit(love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) during this time. Will we let Him? Please encourage all Christians to pray fervently for our nation and especially those whose name wouldn’t be found in the book of life if they happen to die.

“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭145:18-21‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/bible/59/psa.145.18-21.esv
All,This stands out because David says, “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” I can only imagine how many people are calling on Him during this crisis in truth. This virus has exposed a spirit of fear in a lot people. This country has been lulled to sleep with its prosperity. We have so much to entertain us that few think about death and eternal life. God loves us and wants us to put Him first. Once He is first in our lives, we have nothing to fear. How fitting is it that this solitude will enable Easter to take on a whole new meaning for so many? Please pray for our nation to receive Christ’s gift to us to cleanse us for a eternal relationship with Him.