(Begin with 1-2 minutes of silence)
Every day, your brain is receiving thousands of messages from the world around you. Each of those messages has some kind of hidden narrative attached to it. These include messages such as, “Your life will be better if you buy this product.” Or, “You will be happy if you (fill in the blank).”
In the end, each of these messages has an impact on your life. Sure, one commercial for a specific brand of cat food may not impact you much, especially if you don’t even own a cat. But over time, all of these messages shape the way you see yourself, the way you see others, and even the views you have on God. These messages are shaping and forming your beliefs about…everything.
The question, therefore, is this: Are you aware of these messages and the impact they’re having on you? Are you aware of just how much these messages are forming you?
In his newest book titled Practicing the Way, John Mark Comer writes, “For those of us who desire to follow Jesus, here is the reality we must turn and face: If we’re not being intentionally formed by Jesus himself, then it’s highly likely we are being unintentionally formed by someone or something else.”
READING & PRAYERS:
MATTHEW 16:24-26, COLOSSIANS 2:8 (also read the commentary notes in your Study Bible of choice.)
QUESTION: Read John Mark Comer’s quote from Practicing the Way at the end of today’s reading again, slowly. What thoughts come to mind as you read through it?
DIGGING DEEPER: Today, pay close attention to how many messages you see or hear that are trying to shape the way you view yourself, others, and/or God. If possible, keep a list of as many as you can for a full week. Then consider what steps you may need to take to begin limiting these messages from your everyday life.
Take a Step: Practice listening to God by utilizing the One Minute Pause app at least twice a day.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I recognize that I am to live in the world and not of the world, yet I’m not sure I recognize just how much the messages I see and hear every day are impacting me. Help me as I make radical decisions to live life differently; a way of life that is being more intentionally formed by Jesus Himself. In His name. Amen.
(End with 1-2 minutes of silence.)
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