Tag: Bible

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Overcome: Complacency – My Tank is Empty

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You may not struggle to identify growth areas in your emotional and spiritual life. For some, you may be able to identify them relatively quickly. But when you think about these areas, you’re just not sure what to do about them. You’re focused on your spouse, friends, work, school, and a hundred other things each and every day. As such, you may think to yourself, “My tank is empty! I just don’t have the time or the energy to pour into these things right now.”

It’s a common thought, but it’s incorrect and unhealthy. Thoughts such as these assume that these growth areas won’t impact your life if you just leave them be. It’s believing the lie that if you just leave these growth areas alone they won’t interfere with the other more important areas of your life. But they will. 

The truth is that growing in these areas will actually fill your tank and provide you more wisdom and strength to pour into your spouse, friends, work, school, and the hundred other things that are part of your daily life. You’ll likely find that by growing, you’ll be doing less but engaged in real life more.

READING & JOURNALING:

    COLOSSIANS 2:6-7

Why do you think people struggle so much to address their own personal growth areas? 

Be honest: Do you struggle to address some of your own growth areas? Why do you think that is? 

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, it’s so very easy for me to look at others and think about the areas in which they need to grow. But in my own life, I don’t always want to dig in. I’m afraid of what I may discover, and fear that I may find myself unworthy of your grace by what’s deep beneath the surface. Yet I know these fears do not come from You. They must not, because You have already deemed me worthy! May I rest in this truth today. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

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Overcome: Complacency – Be Intentional

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Let’s be honest, nothing grows by accident. An acorn may naturally fall from an oak tree, but hundreds or even thousands of factors go into whether or not this acorn will take root and grow into a tree of its own. 

Similarly, nobody grows by accident. An infant doesn’t become a child without being fed, cared for, and trained. A child doesn’t become a student without nourishment and ongoing instruction. A student doesn’t grow into adulthood without this process continuing on a deeper and deeper level. 

The same principle is true for our emotional and spiritual lives. We won’t grow by accident. Instead, growth takes intentionality. Each of us has to have some desire to grow and take some form of responsibility in the process. After all, Jesus Himself was intentional in His own pursuit to grow.

Luke 2:52 reads, Jesus took the opportunity to grow in wisdom, stature, favor with God, and people.  

On a scale of 1-10, how intentional are you in your pursuit to grow in wisdom? Stature? Favor with God? Favor with people?

READING & JOURNALING:

     LUKE 2:52

On a scale of 1-10, how intentional are you in your pursuit to grow in wisdom? Stature? Favor with God? Favor with people? 

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, the amount of time I have spent this week staring at my phone shows that I’m not as intentional as I ought to be in growing in wisdom. May Your Word, not my social media feed, be what I dwell on throughout the day today. As Psalm 1 says, I want to delight in Your Word, meditating on it day and night. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

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Overcome: Complacency – What Are My Growth Areas?

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In his book Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, pastor and author Peter Scazzero provides a framework of specific steps churches can take to create a culture of emotionally and spiritually healthy Christians. But before outlining what steps churches can take to build this culture, Scazzero focuses on specific ways churches are failing when it comes to creating healthy followers of Jesus. Number one on his list: too many churches tolerate emotional immaturity. (Feel free to read through Emotionally Healthy Discipleship on your own to read about some of the other failures of the modern church, as well as solutions.) 

Fortunately, this is a barrier that churches can overcome. But because some Christians are in churches that have tolerated, or even created a culture of emotional immaturity, many Christians haven’t been taught the importance of self-reflection and identifying growth areas. Personal self-reflection is a vital part of personal growth, as it helps each of us acknowledge we have some areas in our emotional and spiritual life which need to be strengthened. 

READING & JOURNALING:

     GALATIANS 5:19-23

What are two or three growth areas in your emotional and spiritual life?

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, today I’m reminded that even though I have growth areas, this doesn’t mean that I’m a failure or weak. It simply means that I need to lean more into You and Your strength. As I lean into You this week, I pray that You will create within me a hunger to grow emotionally and spiritually. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

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Light of the World: I Am Who God Says I Am

The following truths have been adapted from Neil Anderson’s Freedom in Christ Ministries. Click here for a downloadable PDF.

I am who God says I am.

I Am Accepted 

John 1:12 I am God’s child. 

John 15:15 I am Christ’s friend. 

Romans 5:1 I have been justified. 

1 Corinthians 6:17 I am united with the Lord, and I am one spirit with Him. 

1 Corinthians 6:20 I have been bought with a price. I belong to God. 

1 Corinthians 12:27 I am a member of Christ’s Body. 

Ephesians 1:1 I am a saint. 

Ephesians 1:5 I have been adopted as God’s child. 

Ephesians 2:18 I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit. 

Colossians 1:14 I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. 

Colossians 2:10 I am complete in Christ. 

I Am Secure 

Romans 8:1-2 I am free from condemnation. 

Romans 8:28 I am assured all things work together for good. 

Romans 8:31-34 I am free from any condemning charges against me. 

Romans 8:35-39 I cannot be separated from the love of God. 

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 I have been established, anointed and sealed by God. 

Philippians 1:6 I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected. 

Philippians 3:20 I am a citizen of heaven. 

Colossians 3:3 I am hidden with Christ in God. 

2 Timothy 1:7 I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. 

Hebrews 4:16 I can find grace and mercy in time of need. 

1 John 5:18 I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.

I Am Significant 

Matthew 5:13-14 I am the salt and light of the earth. 

John 15:1,5 I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life. 

John 15:16 I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. 

Acts 1:8 I am a personal witness of Christ. 

1 Corinthians 3:16 I am God’s temple. 

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 I am a minister of reconciliation for God. 

2 Corinthians 6:1 I am God’s coworker (see 1 Corinthians 3:9). 

Ephesians 2:6 I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm. 

Ephesians 2:10 I am God’s workmanship. 

Ephesians 3:12 I may approach God with freedom and confidence. 

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Prayer for Others:

  1. Thank God for the miracle of this person.
  2. Thank God for any way in which this person has changed your life.
  3. Commit his/her future to the Lord.
  4. Ask God for help in figuring out how you may best encourage them to know God and grow into the person God has made them to be.

Prayer for Your Church:

  1. Thank God for the miracle of your church and its ministry.
  2. Thank God for any way in which your church has changed your life.
  3. Commit your church’s future to the Lord.
  4. Ask God for help in figuring out what your part in that future is.

Prayer for Your Spouse:

Heavenly Father, thank You for bringing (spouse) into my life,  and thank You for the person they are. Specifically, I thank You that (spouse) is (growing closer to you, kind, funny, a good listener, etc.) I also want to thank You for the ways in which (spouse) has changed my life for the better. Just today (or this week, or this month), (spouse) has impacted my life in a positive way by (serving me, serving our family, providing, caring, speaking my love language, etc.)I pray that (spouse) would continue to know You better, and that You will continually reveal Your love and grace to them. I recognize that their faith in You is outside my control, but I pray that You would provide me the ability to see (spouse) as the person You’ve created them to be, and that You would provide me wisdom in how I may best encourage them to be that person. Thank You, once again, for bringing (spouse) into my life. 

I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

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Light of the World: Think it Through

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READING AND JOURNALING:

What have you learned about God throughout this week? 

What do you believe is the next step God is inviting you to take? If you’re not sure, where may you turn to find an answer? 

PRAYER:

Write out your own prayer today.

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Light of the World: Live as People of Light

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Ephesians 5:8-9 reads, For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.

Some things just make sense. For example, the more time you spend with God, the more you know and understand who He is. The more you know and understand who He is, the more you’re better able to reflect this to others. It isn’t rocket science…it just works. 

Other things may make just as much sense, but we still may struggle to actually believe them. For example, we may see ourselves as unholy, ungodly, or unworthy. Because we fail and have our poor moments, we may think, “Who am I to live as a person of light? I’ll mess this up. I always do.” 

But where do thoughts such as these come from? They don’t come from the Scriptures. Instead, God communicates, “You were (past tense) full of darkness, but now (present tense) you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!”

READING & JOURNALING:

ROMANS 13:12, EPHESIANS 5:8

How regularly do you think things like, “Who am I to try to live as a person of light? I’ll mess this up. I always do.”? 

Where do you think thoughts such as these come from? 

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, there are times when I mess up, and I’m sure there will be many more of these throughout my life. Today I’m simply grateful for the reminder that these moments don’t define my life. You and You alone define who I am, and You see me as a person who was full of darkness but is now a person of Light. May this truth permeate deep within me, and may I be light to others today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Light of the World: Live in the Light

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Proverbs 4:18-19 reads, The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over.

Each and every day you are bombarded with hundreds and hundreds of messages. Not just text messages or emails. But messages from news media, tv shows, radio hosts, musicians, authors, colleagues, and more. Each and every one of these messages has the potential to either bring you closer to knowing the person of Christ, or potentially leading you away from Him. The question is, what can you do about this? 

In reality, the solution isn’t always easy. Pastor Pete Scazzero, author of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, has discovered that for him to stay on track, he needs to take intentional time with God not just each morning, but 3-5 times throughout the day. He will take 8-10 minutes to read a devotional, pray, or just be in silence in the presence of God at certain times of the day every day. By living and being in God’s presence regularly, he feels he can then reflect this light into the lives of others. 

READING & JOURNALING:

PROVERBS 4:18-19

Do you have a daily time with God? If not, in what ways would your life be different if you had intentional time with God each day? If so, what ways may your life be different if you scheduled more time to be with Him throughout the day? 

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, I confess there are days or moments when I come to You not to know You more, but with a desire that You would simply do what I want You to do. In these moments, I’m looking to You as more of a personal assistant to me than I am looking to You as the compete and total Lord of my life. Today, may I continually reflect on who You are and not my circumstances. May You and You alone be the focus of my thoughts. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

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Light of the World: It’s All About Jesus

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As people, we want others to think well of us. As such, we’ll often do simple things for them thinking that by being kind, they’ll like us more. And through it all, there will be times when our motives are pure and we are living in such a way that we’re reflecting the light of Christ in our words and actions. 

Unfortunately, there will be moments in all of our lives when we slip and fall down. Moments when others see the brokenness in our lives, and not the light. Inevitably, we may then get back into a healthier rhythm of being the light of the world. But that one moment of darkness may lead others to think, “You call yourself a Christian, but you did _________.” 

It’s in moments such as this we can be humble and admit, “Yes, I acknowledge I sometimes mess up in life. And I confess my actions are not always a perfect reflection of Christ. But don’t think poorly of Him because of something I’ve done.”

In other words, we want to live our lives in a way that we’re constantly pointing others to Christ. We don’t want to preach about how good we are, but about how good He is. 

READING & JOURNALING:

2 CORINTHIANS 4:4-6

Have you ever had somebody not want to listen to you talk about the Gospel because of a poor decision you made earlier in life? How did you respond? 

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, I confess there are times when I do certain things in order for people to think better of me, and not with a heart to help others think better of You. Today, may my thoughts and my actions be directed to upholding and uplifting the goodness of who You are. May I not preach about myself, but simply that Jesus is Lord. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

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Light of the World: You Are the Light of the World

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Matthew 5:14-15 reads, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.”

Some may read passages such as this one and think that we need to do good deeds in order to be closer to God. But this passage (as well as many others) are sharing a different principle. Because we are Christians and already are close to God, we have the opportunity to be light in the lives of others. As Christ has been light to us, so we get to reflect that same light into the lives of others. 

At the same time, we may try to hide the light of Christ out of fear of what others will think about us. We may not want to speak up about something wrong and instead decide to go along with the crowd. Or we may opt to not share the light with others because we’re afraid of what they may think. 

Admittedly, balancing out when to speak, when to listen, and how to speak hard truths in a graceful way has it’s challenges. But as our constant guide, Jesus will light the way forward. 

READING & JOURNALING:

MATTHEW 5:13-16

What are at least 5 ways you recognize that you already are the light of the world? 

In what ways does this encourage and empower you to be light to others today? Be specific.

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, I confess there are days in which I don’t feel like I’m the light of the world. Today, I’m simply thankful for the reminder that whatever my circumstances may be, You see me as the Light of the World, and truths such as this empower me to continue growing into the person You have made me to be. Thank you! In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

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Light of the World: Think it Through

(Begin with 1-2 minutes of silence)

What have you learned about God throughout this week? 

READING AND JOURNALING:

What do you believe is the next step God is inviting you to take? If you’re not sure, where may you turn to find an answer? 

PRAYER:

Write out your own prayer today.

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