Libsyn Directory

Day 20 Unity and Peace [S01:E20]

21 Days of Prayer & Meditation (with Anthony Skinner)

Release Date: 01/20/2025

Day 21. You're Created for Such A Time As This [S01:E21]

21 Days of Prayer & Meditation (with Anthony Skinner)

PROLOGUE We have spent 21 days in centering prayer, focusing our attentions and affections on God. What a precious time it has been. The nearness of God is surely for our good. The kindness of the Lord truly leads us to repentance. The steadfast love of God and his beautiful presence is transformative. Taking time to behold him really does change us. He is with us always. And His steadfast love endures forever. SCRIPTURE Esther 4:14 “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” DEVOTIONAL The scripture in Esther 4:14 is in reference to God...

Day 20 Unity and Peace [S01:E20]

21 Days of Prayer & Meditation (with Anthony Skinner)

SCRIPTURE Revelation 7:9-10 “I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb...And they were shouting with a great roar, ‘Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!’” DEVOTION Imagine this scene: A crowd with people from every nation, every tribe, every people, every language, all standing in front of the throne, joyfully worshipping at the top of their lungs. That scene sounds like the most electrifying, exciting, chaotic, joyful, unified display of life....

Day 19 Generosity [S01:E19]

21 Days of Prayer & Meditation (with Anthony Skinner)

SCRIPTURE Acts 4:32 “They shared everything they had.” DEVOTIONAL “And all the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.” (Acts 4:32) Where could such generosity come from? To hold all things in common and see resources as something to be freely shared and given away? To be in one heart and mind and enjoy every minute of it! Acts 4:32 is fruit from experiencing the presence and belonging of God. His presence and belonging reveal the knowledge of God and who...

Day 18 Justice [S01:E18]

21 Days of Prayer & Meditation (with Anthony Skinner)

SCRIPTURE Isaiah 61:8 “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. DEVOTIONAL We see in Isaiah 61 that God clearly defines what He loves and hates. He loves justice. That means he loves fairness, equality, and balanced scales. And just as much as God loves justice, He hates its’ opposite - robbery and injustice. He hates wrongdoing, inequality, and unbalanced distributions. There have been cases of injustice and robbery throughout history. But there is a foundational story of robbery and injustice that the whole earth is...

Day 17 SOZO (salvation, healing, and deliverance) [S01:E17]

21 Days of Prayer & Meditation (with Anthony Skinner)

SCRIPTURE Luke 19:10 states: For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save (sozo) that which was lost. DEVOTIONAL Jesus came to ransom back what was lost. To rescue his glorious inheritance, which is us! Yes, He came to save all of humankind. But what does the word “save” mean? The word save is “sozo” in Greek and represents more than salvation. It means salvation, healing, and deliverance. It means to make whole again. Our beautiful Jesus did not just come to save a part of us. No, he came to save all of us. We are born...

Day 16 God’s Presence Pt. 2 [S01:E16]

21 Days of Prayer & Meditation (with Anthony Skinner)

SCRIPTURE Exodus 33:14 And He said, "My presence shall go with you.” DEVOTIONAL Romans 8:19 says, “All creation is eagerly waiting, yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters!” What is creation waiting for? They are waiting for us to bring heaven to earth and take our place as co-heirs with Christ. How do we do such an abstract, overwhelming thing? We simply bring the presence of God with us as we go through our day. We lean into our relationship with God and do what we “see” the Father doing. (John 5:19) We...

Day 15 God’s Presence Pt. 1 [S01:E15]

21 Days of Prayer & Meditation (with Anthony Skinner)

SCRIPTURE  Acts 17:28 “For in him we live and move and have our being.” DEVOTIONAL From the beginning, God established a precedent by walking in the garden daily with Adam and Eve. We were all made to walk with and experience God’s presence as a natural, everyday part of our lives. God created us to depend upon Him and his presence and even to partner with him in our decision-making processes. Jesus emphasized this importance when he said, “I’m telling you this straight. The Son can’t independently do a thing, only what he sees the Father doing. What the Father...

Day 14 Belonging [S01:E14]

21 Days of Prayer & Meditation (with Anthony Skinner)

SCRIPTURE Galatians 4:6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. DEVOTIONAL Belonging is the knowledge of being part of God’s family. It is the spirit of adoption, the spirit of sonship. And it is the opposite of an orphan spirit. Belonging brings safety and security. It allows us to live from love, not for love. Imagine an orphan on the street. They have to look out for themselves. Their goal is to survive. They must stay...

Day 13 Repentance [S01:E13]

21 Days of Prayer & Meditation (with Anthony Skinner)

SCRIPTURE Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? Rom 2:4 DEVOTIONAL Jesus said, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matt 3:2). Repentance is part of preparing and widening the road for the kingdom of God to come. We see in Romans 2:4 that God's kindness leads us to repentance. Through his kindness and grace towards us, we are empowered to reject anything less than what God wants for us, turn, and grab hold of His higher ways. God wants to bring us into...

Day 12 Praying from Heaven to Earth [S01-E12]

21 Days of Prayer & Meditation (with Anthony Skinner)

SCRIPTURE Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 (NIV) DEVOTIONAL When teaching the disciples to pray, Jesus said, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”. His language is an invitation to awaken our hearts to a greater awareness of Heaven. His prayer moves us towards cultivating our ability to see beyond what is right in front of our eyes and begs the question, “What is Heaven’s reality?” The more knowledgeable we become to what Heaven looks like... the more accurately we can pray through our desires, our...

More Episodes

SCRIPTURE

Revelation 7:9-10 “I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb...And they were shouting with a great roar, ‘Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!’”

DEVOTION

Imagine this scene: A crowd with people from every nation, every tribe, every people, every language, all standing in front of the throne, joyfully worshipping at the top of their lungs. That scene sounds like the most electrifying, exciting, chaotic, joyful, unified display of life.

How did John know they were from different tribes, tongues, nations, and people groups? He knew because he could see it and hear it! It was a joyful celebration of different people with different languages, colors, and expressions of praise.

There were differences of all kinds, but they had something in common. They had all been bought with a price and brought into the family of God. They had been redeemed and restored and made whole. And they were unified in who deserved their affection and praise.

When we talk of heaven, we often speak as if we will be changed into someone other than who we are. But that is not what happens in heaven. The Kingdom of God is about completion. It is about restoration. It is about returning everything to the original plan - God’s original dream!!!

Of course, where sin and trauma and illness and evil of all kinds have twisted us and marred the original design God had for us - that will be removed forever. But Jesus did not come to turn us into someone else. Jesus came to bring us into OUR fullness.

We also imagine that the harmony in heaven will result from us all being the same. But that is not what John saw around the throne. No, he saw a vast multitude of diversity. God’s perfect will allows us to be uniquely different but unified under him.

That is heaven. Everyone is different in size, shape, color, and background but everyone is the same in the spirit of adoption - one God, one King, one Lord, one Father, one Savior. No need to compete for attention or control for security. Instead, in the Kingdom, everyone is satisfied in God’s love and able to fully celebrate and honor the beauty and uniqueness of all God’s children.

QUESTIONS

Am I afraid of people who are different than me? What differences make me the most uncomfortable? Ask God why. Talk to God. Let him transform your thinking through His kindness.

PRAYER

God, you came to restore me. You came to reconcile all things to yourself. Give me eyes to see your original design for me. Give me the heart to embrace and even celebrate the differences in race, color, personality, and nationality of others. Exchange my fears for your peace. Teach me to love as you love.

TOPICS