Micah 7:7-15 New International Version (NIV)  7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,     I wait for God my Savior;     my God will hear me.  Israel Will Rise  8 Do not gloat over me, my enemy!     Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness,     the Lord will be my light. 9 Because I have sinned against him,     I will bear the Lord’s wrath, until he pleads my case     and upholds my cause. He will bring me out into the light;     I will see his righteousness. 10 Then my enemy will see it     and will be covered with shame, she who said to me,     “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will see her downfall;     even now she will be trampled underfoot     like mire in the streets.   11 The day for building your walls will come,     the day for extending your boundaries. 12 In that day people will come to you     from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates     and from sea to sea     and from mountain to mountain. 13 The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,     as the result of their deeds.  Prayer and Praise  14 Shepherd your people with your staff,     the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest,     in fertile pasturelands.a]">[a]  Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead     as in days long ago.   15 “As in the days when you came out of Egypt,     I will show them my wonders.” 

Micah 7:7-15

The Daily Practice: a devotional tool from Platt Park Church for developing the habit of daily time with God

Learning to love God takes practice. Just like exercising a muscle, our hearts are trained to love from the bottom up, through the formation of our habits and practices. Discipleship is about curating our hearts to love God and the things that God loves. Forces of our culture train us to love things other than God all the time, but spiritual practices help us to be attentive and intentional about what my heart really loves and desires. Following Jesus is more a matter of hungering and thirsting than of knowing and believing and it is our habit forming practices that form our desires over time. May this daily practice tune your heart to sing His praise.

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Psalm 22:14-22 New International Version (NIV)   14 I am poured out like water,     and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax;     it has melted within me. 15 My moutha]">[a] is dried up like a potsherd,     and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;     you lay me in the dust of death.   16 Dogs surround me,     a pack of villains encircles me;     they pierceb]">[b] my hands and my feet. 17 All my bones are on display;     people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my clothes among them     and cast lots for my garment.   19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.     You are my strength; come quickly to help me. 20 Deliver me from the sword,     my precious life from the power of the dogs. 21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;     save me from the horns of the wild oxen.   22 I will declare your name to my people;     in the assembly I will praise you.  

Psalm 22:14-22

Mark 1:14-28 New International Version (NIV)  Jesus Announces the Good News 14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Jesus Calls His First Disciples 16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit 21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. 27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee. 

Mark 1:14-28

Genesis 37:1-11 New International Version (NIV)  Joseph’s Dreams 37 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. 2 This is the account of Jacob’s family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornatea]">[a] robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. 5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. 9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. 

Genesis 37:1-11

1 Corinthians 1:20-31 New International Version (NIV)  20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” 

1 Corinthians 1:20-31

1 Corinthians 1:1-19 New International Version (NIV)  1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Thanksgiving 4 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— 6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. A Church Divided Over Leaders 10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,a]">[a] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephasb]">[b]”; still another, “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:  “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;     the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”  

Micah 7:7-15

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