Month: June 2025

June 13, 2025 – Bible Recap Journal

1 Kings 8; 2 Chronicles 5

Common Theme
God’s presence fills the temple with glory when it is dedicated to Him in reverence and obedience. The assembly and the king recognize that the fulfillment of God’s promises centers on His faithfulness and abiding presence.

Questions

  • What does it reveal about God’s character that He chose to dwell among His people in a physical space?
  • How does Solomon’s prayer show both humility and confidence in God’s covenantal promises?

God Shot
God is a covenant-keeping King who dwells not in buildings made by hands, but in faithful presence with His people. His glory fills the temple not because He is contained, but because He is near and chooses to be known.

June 12, 2025 – Bible Recap Journal

1 Kings 7; 2 Chronicles 4

Common Theme
Solomon oversaw the creation of sacred spaces and objects with unmatched craftsmanship and reverence, demonstrating that the dwelling place of God among His people was to be marked by beauty, detail, and holiness.

Questions

  • Why did God desire such meticulous craftsmanship and ornamentation in His temple?
  • What do the temple furnishings reveal about God’s nature and His relationship with His people?

God Shot
God is a God of glory and precision, who values beauty and order in the space where He dwells. His holiness is not abstract—it is expressed through design, symmetry, and symbolism, revealing that His presence among us is sacred and intentional.

June 11, 2025 – Bible Recap Journal

1 Kings 5–6; 2 Chronicles 2–3

Common Theme
God fulfills His promises and delights in dwelling among His people, prompting immense care and reverence in constructing His house.

Questions
– Why did Solomon place such emphasis on using the best materials and skilled workers for the temple?
– What does the temple reveal about God’s desire to be present with His people?

God Shot
God is a covenant-keeping King who fulfills His promise to David by establishing Solomon and allowing the temple to be built. He is a God who chooses to dwell among His people in holiness, inviting reverent worship and awe.

When You’re Afraid to Pray the Bold Prayer

It takes courage to name both desire and fear in the same breath. You’re not alone in that tension. Scripture is full of people who were called by God and trembled at what it might cost them—think of Moses (Exodus 3–4), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:6–8), and even Jesus in Gethsemane (Luke 22:42).

To ask God to “empty you of yourself” is a bold and beautiful prayer—but it’s not a prayer for punishment, it’s a prayer for deeper life. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:23–24). What feels like loss is actually the path to gaining what matters most—Him.

God isn’t out to erase you; He’s out to redeem you. When we surrender our will, our control, our pride, He fills that empty space with more of Himself—His peace, His power, His joy (Galatians 2:20; John 15:11).

And yes, it’s okay to be afraid. But fear doesn’t disqualify you from faith—it just gives you the chance to practice it. Even Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” He felt the weight of surrender, but He trusted the heart of the Father.

So if your heart is being tugged, you can start small. Pray honestly: “God, I want to be emptied of myself, but I’m afraid. Meet me in this fear. Help me want You more than I want safety.”

He’s a good Father. He’s not looking to destroy your life—but to give you real life in Him (John 10:10).

Disruption: Embracing Process

Excerpt from ‘100 Days of Believing Bigger” by Marshawn Evans Daniels

These trials will show that your faith is genuine.
It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—
though your faith is far more precious than mere gold.
So when your faith remains strong through many trials,
it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

—1 Peter 1:7 NLT

Alignment with God’s will is necessary for our divine assignment. Disruption gives us a chance to get an overdue adjustment while God brings all the skewed parts of our life into proper, powerful, and purpose-ready order. Think of it like going to the chiropractor—it’s about getting aligned the way it’s supposed to be. In the middle of the discomfort, it’s important to remember that our purpose is always on the other side of process.

God sends His promise by way of a process, which is why we miss it! We think it is going to fall out of the sky like manna from heaven, but navigating the Gap—the zone of growth, transition, and divine reinvention—is where we must go to enter our promised land. Our purpose, more provision, more healing, and even more miracles are all on the other side of this process.

The Gap is your wilderness between Egypt (what you’ve known) and the Promised Land (what you’ve been praying for and are destined for). What we’re moving toward is not necessarily a bigger house, more money, less stress, or better relationships… although I have no doubt that everything is better on the other side of surrender. God doesn’t leave our heart’s desires behind as He ushers us into our destiny. But this isn’t about stuff. It’s about exchanging your current plans for the life God is calling you toward. And it’s about getting where God needs you to accomplish something new that heaven is seeking to do.

Attribution: Excerpt from “100 Days of Believing Bigger” by Marshawn Evans Daniels

June 10, 2025 – Bible Recap Journal

Proverbs 22–24

Common Theme

Wisdom in daily relationships and work is grounded in humility, reverence for the Lord, and justice. These chapters emphasize the moral consequences of choices, the value of discipline, and the dangers of envy, laziness, and dishonesty.

Questions

  • What does it mean to truly fear the Lord in practical decisions—especially in wealth, parenting, and leadership?
  • How do we cultivate hearts that love wisdom rather than crave what the wicked gain?

God Shot

God is a defender of the oppressed and a just Judge who sees through all pretenses (22:22–23). He delights in righteousness, disciplines those He loves, and lovingly warns His people against paths that lead to ruin—revealing a heart that both protects and purifies.

God Sold the Cattle

Based on a story recounted in The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson, Chapter Ten: “The Cattle on a Thousand Hills”

Shortly after Dallas Theological Seminary opened its doors, their doors almost closed because of bankruptcy. Before their 1929 commencement day, the faculty gathered in the president’s office to pray that God would provide. They formed a prayer circle, and when it was Harry Ironside’s turn, he circled Psalm 50:10 with a simple Honi-like prayer:

“Lord, we know you own the cattle on a thousand hills. Please sell some of them, and send us the money.”

The time lapse between our requests and God’s answers is often longer than we would like, but occasionally God answers immediately. While the faculty was praying, a $10,000 answer was delivered. One version of the story attributes the gift to a Texas cattle rancher who had sold two carloads of cattle. Another version attributes it to a banker from Illinois. But one way or another, it was God who prompted the gift and answered the prayer.

In a moment that is reminiscent of the day Peter knocked on the door of the house where his friends were praying for a miraculous jailbreak, the president’s secretary interrupted the prayer meeting by knocking on the president’s door. Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, founder and president of DTS, answered the door, and she handed him the answer to prayer. Turning to his friend and colleague, Dr. Harry Ironside, President Chafer said,

“Harry, God sold the cattle!”

Attribution: Story from Chapter Ten of The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson

Birthing Bigger

Disruption

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.”
— Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

Babies come out crying because they’re upset! They’ve only known the comfort of the womb. Leaving what’s familiar is hard—it’s usually not something we want, at least at first. And birth? It’s messy. Painful. Even when it’s beautiful, it’s not pretty.

But this is how growth works. We get pushed out of what’s comfortable and placed somewhere new. God won’t bless you here with what He’s planned for you there. If He gave you your there-blessing while you were still here, you’d never leave.

So sometimes, when it feels like your prayers aren’t being answered, it might be because the blessing doesn’t fit where you currently are. It’s not that God is being mean—He’s being a loving Father. You can’t learn to walk if you’re always being carried. You have to take steps to grow.

It takes effort to move from where you are to where you’re meant to be. God isn’t keeping your blessing from you—He’s just placed it there, right in the middle of where He’s leading you.

But the space between here and there is uncomfortable. It’s a place of transition. Just like a baby moves from the womb to the birth canal, it’s tight, dark, and painful. But you can’t stay in the incubator forever.

Embrace the shift. The best is on the other side of birth.

Adapted from “Birthing Bigger” in 100 Days of Believing Bigger by Marshawn Evans Daniels (DaySpring, 2020).

June 9, 2025 – Bible Recap Journal

Proverbs 19–21

Common Theme
Wisdom is revealed through righteousness, humility, and justice, while folly leads to destruction. The Lord governs human outcomes, weighing motives and directing paths despite human plans.

Questions

  • What does it look like to live righteously when the results seem delayed or hidden?
  • How does God’s sovereignty over our plans shape the way we make decisions?

God Shot
God is the righteous Judge who weighs hearts and cannot be deceived (Proverbs 21:2). He delights in justice and uprightness more than outward sacrifice (Proverbs 21:3), and He sovereignly directs even the steps of the powerful (Proverbs 21:1). This is a God who is never manipulated, never passive—He is active, discerning, and just in all His ways.

June 8, 2025 – Bible Recap Journal

Proverbs 16–18

Common Theme
These chapters emphasize that true wisdom begins with fearing the Lord, trusting His sovereignty in our plans and responses, and walking in integrity. They contrast the outcomes of the righteous and the wicked, highlighting how speech, humility, and prudence reflect the heart’s alignment with God.

Questions
– Do I truly trust God’s direction, even when my plans seem wise to me?
– How does my speech reflect the condition of my heart before the Lord?

God Shot
God is revealed as sovereign and just—He weighs motives, directs steps, and establishes outcomes. He delights in humility and righteousness, showing that His rule is both personal and purposeful.