God has designed us to produce fruit. To live as a Sign, Foretaste, and Instrument of the Kingdom of God we need to spend the proper time abiding, pruning, and growing. The natural outcome is bearing fruit in our lives. This is clearly stated in I John 2:6 “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” A healthy rhythm of rest and ministry should always be the pattern of a disciple of Jesus.
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating in John 15:1-17 and 1 John 2:6.
Reflection
• If fruit-bearing is not coming naturally in your life, could it be that you have not spent the proper season abiding? Could it be that we are overgrown branches, too weak to support a single grape? In what stage or season do you currently see yourself in this passage? How might others help you in abiding in God?
Practice:
• Intentionally place yourself in the presence of God, then do something you delight in: go for a walk, take a nap, talk to a friend, have a cup of coffee, play a game. Enjoy yourself in God. Receive the gift of rest. Tell God what happens in you as you try to rest.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Week 8 - Instrument - Day 39 - Thursday
In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus tells his followers that they are to “go” and make converts, saved people, new church members. No, this isn’t what God said. He asks us to be disciple-makers, who teach others how to live and love like Jesus. The agenda is much larger than “saving souls.” It involves helping others make the transformational journey into Christlikeness. However, we cannot give away what we don’t have ourselves. We need to be on that same journey to fulfill this “Great Command.”
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating in Matthew 28:19-20.
Reflection
• What is the difference between being a Christian and being a disciple/apprentice?
• How would you explain the difference between:
o Intending to make disciples and letting converts happen (and)
o Intending to make converts and letting disciples happen? (Johnson, Jan and Matthews, Keith, Study Guide to The Divine Conspiracy, p. 9)
Practice:
• Consider every aspect of your life (home, work, neighborhood, friendships) and how you are reflecting Jesus. What would you like others to learn about Jesus from you? How can you model the virtues of Jesus in all your relationships? How can you teach others how to do all that Jesus did?
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating in Matthew 28:19-20.
Reflection
• What is the difference between being a Christian and being a disciple/apprentice?
• How would you explain the difference between:
o Intending to make disciples and letting converts happen (and)
o Intending to make converts and letting disciples happen? (Johnson, Jan and Matthews, Keith, Study Guide to The Divine Conspiracy, p. 9)
Practice:
• Consider every aspect of your life (home, work, neighborhood, friendships) and how you are reflecting Jesus. What would you like others to learn about Jesus from you? How can you model the virtues of Jesus in all your relationships? How can you teach others how to do all that Jesus did?
Week 8 - Instrument - Day 38 - Wednesday
As we submit to God and His kingdom, our values change. We start to see others as dearly loved children of God. We see others who are neglected and marginalized by the world. We understand that true religion is worship revealed in action and we bring voice to the voiceless. We are no longer numb to the needs of those around us. We feel compassion and we are moved to act on that compassion. Just as Jesus is aware and embodies the hurt of others, we too feel and act in compassion.
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating in Matthew 25:31-46.
Reflection
How does this passage reveal what God considers allegiance in His Kingdom? Who’s in and who’s out?
Practice:
Start by praying. Consider your responsibility before God and your role in His kingdom. What effect does God’s view of the gifts He has given you have on you? How can you begin to share your gifts with others? Could you tutor? Can you paint or fix things? Start by daily asking God how he wants you to help the marginalized and needy around you.
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating in Matthew 25:31-46.
Reflection
How does this passage reveal what God considers allegiance in His Kingdom? Who’s in and who’s out?
Practice:
Start by praying. Consider your responsibility before God and your role in His kingdom. What effect does God’s view of the gifts He has given you have on you? How can you begin to share your gifts with others? Could you tutor? Can you paint or fix things? Start by daily asking God how he wants you to help the marginalized and needy around you.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Week 8 - Instrument - Day 37 - Tuesday
Ultimately, the church should emerge from mission, rather than the mission emerging from the church. Mission then is the context that influences the way the church gathers. When mission defines the church, it no longer attempts to “attract” or asks others to “come to us”, but it “goes” out and forms around others. Mission is not merely an activity of the church. Rather, mission is the result of God’s initiative, rooted in God’s action in human history. It begins with the call of Israel to receive God’s blessing, be formed into His people and be a blessing to all nations. (Genesis 12:1-3) God is a missionary God and it is always his mission to reconcile the world to him. We need to understand that the church is God’s “sent people.” The church does not “send” because it is already “sent.” This is the only biblical model of the “church.”
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on John 20:21 and Matthew 28:18-20
Reflection
• What does it mean that God sends you? How should you view your neighborhood, where you work, where you fellowship?
Practice:
• Set aside time daily or as often as possible to walk your neighborhood and prayerfully ask God, “How can I serve and embody your love for my neighbors?” As you pray and walk, listen for insight from God.
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on John 20:21 and Matthew 28:18-20
Reflection
• What does it mean that God sends you? How should you view your neighborhood, where you work, where you fellowship?
Practice:
• Set aside time daily or as often as possible to walk your neighborhood and prayerfully ask God, “How can I serve and embody your love for my neighbors?” As you pray and walk, listen for insight from God.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Week 8 - Instrument - Day 36 - Monday
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (1 Peter 2:9-12)
The Biblical understanding of salvation is that our lives become swept up into something larger and greater than ourselves, into God’s purposes for the world. In other words, the receiving of salvation and the call to mission are not to be conceived sequentially, as if one followed the other. Rather, to receive salvation is, to be called into something larger and greater that we are, to be invited to participate in God’s saving purpose and plan for the world. That is why the gospel is primarily about God, and only secondarily about us.
- Inagrace Dietrich (Storm Front)
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on 2 Corinthians 15:17-20.
Reflection
• How do you respond to the words of Inagrace Dietrich (above) and the passage in 2 Corinthians?
Practice:
• Spend some time praying for those you know, who have not yet been “reconciled” to God. Pray that they may come to have a relationship with God. Ask and listen to how God may want you to reveal the “gospel” to them. Make yourself available to God throughout the day and look for how God may be currently reconciling those around you to Him. Participate in that ministry of reconciliation.
The Biblical understanding of salvation is that our lives become swept up into something larger and greater than ourselves, into God’s purposes for the world. In other words, the receiving of salvation and the call to mission are not to be conceived sequentially, as if one followed the other. Rather, to receive salvation is, to be called into something larger and greater that we are, to be invited to participate in God’s saving purpose and plan for the world. That is why the gospel is primarily about God, and only secondarily about us.
- Inagrace Dietrich (Storm Front)
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on 2 Corinthians 15:17-20.
Reflection
• How do you respond to the words of Inagrace Dietrich (above) and the passage in 2 Corinthians?
Practice:
• Spend some time praying for those you know, who have not yet been “reconciled” to God. Pray that they may come to have a relationship with God. Ask and listen to how God may want you to reveal the “gospel” to them. Make yourself available to God throughout the day and look for how God may be currently reconciling those around you to Him. Participate in that ministry of reconciliation.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Week 7 - Living as a Foretaste - Day 35 - Friday
Individualism is always at battle with community. A radical commitment to one another in the church community is in contrast to the dominant culture. Individualism can also chew away at a congregation’s dependence on the Holy Spirit and its interdependence with others in the congregation as well as with the larger church body in other congregations. Living as a foretaste for others is risky, but if it’s to be authentic we need to recognize that as a “body” we are stronger and healthier that a collection of “individuals.”
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on I Corinthians 12:14-27.
Reflection
• How have you seen individualism in your own life and the churches’ life be destructive?
Practice:
• Spend some time in prayer and reflection and ask God to “Search your heart.” Ask God to reveal how you have focused on yourself and not on the needs of His body. How can you begin to contribute to the health of the body and what do you need to give up for the sake of the body and the loss to your individualism? – You may not hear anything at first, but continue to ask God daily:
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:24-25
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on I Corinthians 12:14-27.
Reflection
• How have you seen individualism in your own life and the churches’ life be destructive?
Practice:
• Spend some time in prayer and reflection and ask God to “Search your heart.” Ask God to reveal how you have focused on yourself and not on the needs of His body. How can you begin to contribute to the health of the body and what do you need to give up for the sake of the body and the loss to your individualism? – You may not hear anything at first, but continue to ask God daily:
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:24-25
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Week 7 - Living as a Foretaste - Day 34 - Thursday
Active helpfulness means individuals will come to know enough about one another to become significantly involved in each other’s lives. It challenges the culture’s assumptions of individual rights and private space in order to participate in God’s work of bringing wholeness to relationships and healing to communities…Communal patterns of active helpfulness require frequent and sustained interaction.
- Dale A. Ziemer Treasures in Clay Jars
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on Philippians 2:1-4
Reflection
• How can we be helpful if we do not spend enough time to come to know one another?
Practice:
Begin to listen deeply to the hurts and needs of those you do community with and those in your neighborhood. Prayerfully ask God to reveal needs that you can help with. Does a family need a meal delivered to them because of the busyness of their circumstances? Does someone who is ill or injured need the lawn mowed? Figure out the need and act on it.
- Dale A. Ziemer Treasures in Clay Jars
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on Philippians 2:1-4
Reflection
• How can we be helpful if we do not spend enough time to come to know one another?
Practice:
Begin to listen deeply to the hurts and needs of those you do community with and those in your neighborhood. Prayerfully ask God to reveal needs that you can help with. Does a family need a meal delivered to them because of the busyness of their circumstances? Does someone who is ill or injured need the lawn mowed? Figure out the need and act on it.
Week 7 - Living as a Foretaste - Day 33 - Wednesday
We go to church so as not to be alone—alone in our joys, alone in our suffering, alone in the every-dayness of our lives, alone in the important passages of our lives…We go to church to tell people we love them and hopefully, to hear them tell us the same thing”
- Ronald Rolheiser
For love to be present, there has to be someone doing the loving and someone receiving that love. We are the recipients of God’s love and, in receiving, we are then able to pour out that same love. We need each other to be able to practice this abundant life Jesus invites us to. By living this life, we make it possible for others to experience the life God is inviting them to.
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on John 13:35
Reflection
• How can the way in which we love one another allow others to experience the reality of the Kingdom of God?
Practice:
• One way to practice loving others is by paying attention to them. Ask someone to tell you their story. Listen deeply. Tell that person how much it means to you to hear their story. How does this story give you a deeper understanding of your friend, of God, of yourself? As a result, how can you love this person more?
(Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook p. 131)
- Ronald Rolheiser
For love to be present, there has to be someone doing the loving and someone receiving that love. We are the recipients of God’s love and, in receiving, we are then able to pour out that same love. We need each other to be able to practice this abundant life Jesus invites us to. By living this life, we make it possible for others to experience the life God is inviting them to.
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on John 13:35
Reflection
• How can the way in which we love one another allow others to experience the reality of the Kingdom of God?
Practice:
• One way to practice loving others is by paying attention to them. Ask someone to tell you their story. Listen deeply. Tell that person how much it means to you to hear their story. How does this story give you a deeper understanding of your friend, of God, of yourself? As a result, how can you love this person more?
(Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook p. 131)
Monday, May 12, 2008
Week 7 - Living as a Foretaste - Day 32 - Tuesday
One thing is clear; that we cannot apprentice ourselves to Jesus without thinking and ministering to “one another.”
Scripture:
• Love one another – John 13:34-35
• Encourage one another – 1 Thessalonians 5:11
• Care for one another – 1 Corinthians 12:24-25
• Accept one another – Romans 15:7
• Be kind to one another – Ephesians 4:31-32
• Live in Harmony with one another – 1 Peter 3:8
• Forgive one another – Ephesians 4:32
• Be hospitable to one another – 1 Peter 4:9
• Worship with one another – Ephesians 5:19-20
• Be devoted to one another – Romans 12:10
• Look out for one another – Philippians 2:4
Practice:
• Spend at least two weeks committed to one of the ‘one anothers’ above. Picture what practicing this “one another” will cost you in time, money, and self-indulgence. At the end of each day notice how you lived and didn’t live your “one another”. Seek God’s grace to continue to practice this “one another” out of the overflow of his Spirit. At the end of the two weeks, consider if you should continue practicing this or move on to a different “one another”.
Scripture:
• Love one another – John 13:34-35
• Encourage one another – 1 Thessalonians 5:11
• Care for one another – 1 Corinthians 12:24-25
• Accept one another – Romans 15:7
• Be kind to one another – Ephesians 4:31-32
• Live in Harmony with one another – 1 Peter 3:8
• Forgive one another – Ephesians 4:32
• Be hospitable to one another – 1 Peter 4:9
• Worship with one another – Ephesians 5:19-20
• Be devoted to one another – Romans 12:10
• Look out for one another – Philippians 2:4
Practice:
• Spend at least two weeks committed to one of the ‘one anothers’ above. Picture what practicing this “one another” will cost you in time, money, and self-indulgence. At the end of each day notice how you lived and didn’t live your “one another”. Seek God’s grace to continue to practice this “one another” out of the overflow of his Spirit. At the end of the two weeks, consider if you should continue practicing this or move on to a different “one another”.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Week 7 - Living as a Foretaste - Day 31 - Monday
As a foretaste, the church embodies in its life the values of the reign of God. The life of the community is itself part oft the “good news”. The quality of our life together—how we nurture, guide, serve, correct, and love one another—is a foretaste, or sneak peek, of the reign of God. As a transforming people, the life and ministry of the church is characterized by sharing in the communion of the Holy Spirit; celebrating diversity in unity; living as stewards of God’s Gifts; and sharing in a community of mutual love and service.
Inagrace Deitrich
“Community as discipline is the effort to create a free and empty space among people where together we can practice true obedience…To create space for God among us requires the constant recognition of the Spirit of God in each other”
- Henri Nouwen
God’s family is meant to be a show and tell, a sneak peak, a foretaste of what belonging to and living in the Kingdom of God is like. God’s one plan, His mission for reaching the world and reconciling its wounded and broken, is rooted in His community. These broken and imperfect people are called “the church”. As this group gathers to be transformed by His Spirit, radical love can change their relationships and the world.
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on I Corinthians 13.
Reflection
• As a follower of Christ, what value do you place on community in comparison to other disciplines like prayer and Bible study?
Practice:
• Try to memorize all of 1 Corinthians 13 or just choose a smaller part and try to live out a sense of shared love and responsibility in various ways within your family of God.
Inagrace Deitrich
“Community as discipline is the effort to create a free and empty space among people where together we can practice true obedience…To create space for God among us requires the constant recognition of the Spirit of God in each other”
- Henri Nouwen
God’s family is meant to be a show and tell, a sneak peak, a foretaste of what belonging to and living in the Kingdom of God is like. God’s one plan, His mission for reaching the world and reconciling its wounded and broken, is rooted in His community. These broken and imperfect people are called “the church”. As this group gathers to be transformed by His Spirit, radical love can change their relationships and the world.
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on I Corinthians 13.
Reflection
• As a follower of Christ, what value do you place on community in comparison to other disciplines like prayer and Bible study?
Practice:
• Try to memorize all of 1 Corinthians 13 or just choose a smaller part and try to live out a sense of shared love and responsibility in various ways within your family of God.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Week 6 - Living as a Sign - Day 30 - Friday
When we recognize that nothing we have really belongs to us, that we are mere stewards, our priorities begin to change. Our source and our everything come from God. When we are recognized as stewards rather than consumers, we become a bright neon sign in a dark world. We become stewards of God’s work through all that we have, not just finances, and we participate in his mission to reconcile the world to himself.
Scripture:
• 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 and Deuteronomy 8:17-18.
Reflection
• How does the knowledge that all you have belongs to God affect your life?
Practice:
• Take an inventory of all you have (money, possessions, talents, time, personality traits, job, etc.) and spend some time thanking God for those gifts. Offer those gifts back to Him by managing and giving them to His will and purpose, thus becoming a blessing.
Scripture:
• 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 and Deuteronomy 8:17-18.
Reflection
• How does the knowledge that all you have belongs to God affect your life?
Practice:
• Take an inventory of all you have (money, possessions, talents, time, personality traits, job, etc.) and spend some time thanking God for those gifts. Offer those gifts back to Him by managing and giving them to His will and purpose, thus becoming a blessing.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Week 6 - Living as a Sign - Day 29 - Thursday
We live in a fast food and instant gratification world. A few years ago, I got new grass in my front yard; in fact, it was a surprise. I was driving home and passed my house because it had grass. Someone laid sod down, “instant-grassification.” We no longer even have to wait for seeds to bloom. We want something now and we can have it now. The spiritual life is not the same. Practicing waiting points to a hope other than personal fulfillment and points to a source that we have no control over. Continue your journey today and long for God’s kingdom. Wait patiently and hope for its full arrival.
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on Psalm 130. (You may consider memorizing the verses to reflect on throughout the day)
Reflection
• Why do you think the Psalmist connected waiting with hope?
Practice:
• Take time this week, and especially today, to just sit and wait on God. Try to do this for about half an hour. Put the work of growing your soul in the hands of God. Release control. Just listen and soak in God’s presence. You can do this while soaking in a bath, sitting at a park, or taking a very slow walk. Take nothing with you but notice everything around you and be very deliberate and listen for God speaking to you as you wait.
“Prayer and Worship: A Spiritual Formation Guide” by Richard Foster
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on Psalm 130. (You may consider memorizing the verses to reflect on throughout the day)
Reflection
• Why do you think the Psalmist connected waiting with hope?
Practice:
• Take time this week, and especially today, to just sit and wait on God. Try to do this for about half an hour. Put the work of growing your soul in the hands of God. Release control. Just listen and soak in God’s presence. You can do this while soaking in a bath, sitting at a park, or taking a very slow walk. Take nothing with you but notice everything around you and be very deliberate and listen for God speaking to you as you wait.
“Prayer and Worship: A Spiritual Formation Guide” by Richard Foster
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Week 6 - Living as a Sign - Day 28-Wednesday
To the Jewish people, the Temple was where God’s presence was made manifest. Faithful Israelites made a pilgrimage to the Temple three times a year. As the pilgrims traveled, they would anticipate being in community together with other Jews and worshiping in the presence of God. Psalm 84 was a song for the journey. Since we are pilgrims on a journey, drawing closer and closer to the heart of God, this Psalm 84 resonates. In our celebration and worship we point to where we are headed and, in fact, where we already reside (in the presence of God in His Kingdom).
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on Psalm 84. (You may consider memorizing the verses to reflect on throughout the day)
Reflection
• How do you feel after reading Psalm 84?
• How is worship a sign to the world that the Kingdom of God is a reality?
• How has celebration been a part of your journey with God?
• Who do you know who really celebrates life and God and what attracts you to them?
Practice:
• Identify the place you most easily connect with God. Is it nature? Participating in corporate worship? Solitude? Listening to Christian music? Go to that place. Tell God about the joy you receive there. How can you more readily participate in worship on Sunday mornings? Start your journey today by thinking of it as a pilgrimage and celebrating your journey and anticipating worshiping with the body.
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on Psalm 84. (You may consider memorizing the verses to reflect on throughout the day)
Reflection
• How do you feel after reading Psalm 84?
• How is worship a sign to the world that the Kingdom of God is a reality?
• How has celebration been a part of your journey with God?
• Who do you know who really celebrates life and God and what attracts you to them?
Practice:
• Identify the place you most easily connect with God. Is it nature? Participating in corporate worship? Solitude? Listening to Christian music? Go to that place. Tell God about the joy you receive there. How can you more readily participate in worship on Sunday mornings? Start your journey today by thinking of it as a pilgrimage and celebrating your journey and anticipating worshiping with the body.
Week 6 - Living as a Sign - Day 27 -Tuesday
When Jesus said ‘Let your light shine before all’, did he mean that we should be haranguing people in the street? It would not work. There was a time when street preaching might have made an impact on people. Nowadays everyone who has a radio or TV is bombarded with messages from another sort of street-preacher, the advertisers. They amuse in order to seduce you into buying. As Christians, we are not expected to rival them. We could not. Our Lord’s words are not about coercing other people into religion, but about doing good in a visible way, ‘so that others, seeing your good works, may glorify your father in heaven’. Your lives may be the only gospel your neighbors ever read.
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on Matthew 5:14-15. (You may consider memorizing the verses to reflect on throughout the day)
Practice:
• First spend some time inviting in God’s loving presence, being aware of Him with you and indwelling in you. Ask God to put certain people on your mind: co-workers, neighbors, friends, and others you may run into today. Envision your day, play it out with God and notice how your acts may bring glory to God. At the end of the day journal and take notice of where God was acting in you and bringing glory to himself. Note where you did not notice Him in the moment but where he may have been calling on you to live differently.
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on Matthew 5:14-15. (You may consider memorizing the verses to reflect on throughout the day)
Practice:
• First spend some time inviting in God’s loving presence, being aware of Him with you and indwelling in you. Ask God to put certain people on your mind: co-workers, neighbors, friends, and others you may run into today. Envision your day, play it out with God and notice how your acts may bring glory to God. At the end of the day journal and take notice of where God was acting in you and bringing glory to himself. Note where you did not notice Him in the moment but where he may have been calling on you to live differently.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Week 6 - Living as a Sign - Day 26 - Monday
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV)
Signs always point to something beyond themselves. A sign never reads, Look at me. A sign points to something ahead, provides warnings, and gives bearings while traveling.
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on Genesis 12:1-3.
Reflection:
• What is Israel’s function in regard to the other peoples of the earth?
• Draw two pictures of yourself as a sign. The first picture, draw of what you currently point others to. The second draw of what you would like to point to.
Practice:
• Spend some time with God and a journal and ask: How is the life I’m living functioning as a sign pointing to the Kingdom of God? How can my life be a sign pointing to the Kingdom of God? Find one practice today that will point others to God in your life.
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV)
Signs always point to something beyond themselves. A sign never reads, Look at me. A sign points to something ahead, provides warnings, and gives bearings while traveling.
Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on Genesis 12:1-3.
Reflection:
• What is Israel’s function in regard to the other peoples of the earth?
• Draw two pictures of yourself as a sign. The first picture, draw of what you currently point others to. The second draw of what you would like to point to.
Practice:
• Spend some time with God and a journal and ask: How is the life I’m living functioning as a sign pointing to the Kingdom of God? How can my life be a sign pointing to the Kingdom of God? Find one practice today that will point others to God in your life.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Week 5 - Kingdom - Day 25 - Friday
The basic demand of the Kingdom is a response of man’s will. Men must receive it. They must yield to it. God’s Kingdom does not ask us to find in ourselves the righteousness that it demands; God will give us the righteousness of his Kingdom. God’s Kingdom does not ask us to create the life that it requires; God’s Kingdom will give us that life. God’s Kingdom does not set up a standard and say, “When you achieve this standard of righteousness, you may enter the Kingdom.” God’s Kingdom makes one demand: Repent! Turn! Decide! Receive the Kingdom; for as you receive it, you receive its life, you receive its blessing, you receive the destiny for those who embrace it.
- George Ladd
Scripture:
• Read and meditate on Mark 1:15 and Matthew 22:1-14.
Reflection:
• What do you think the demands of the Kingdom are? Do you feel you can bring about the Kingdom on your own?
Practice:
• Turn away, repent, from one of your own “kingdoms.” Name that kingdom that you are still controlling and offer it to God. Make a resolute decision to accept Jesus’ offer and enter and receive the gift of God’s kingdom.
- George Ladd
Scripture:
• Read and meditate on Mark 1:15 and Matthew 22:1-14.
Reflection:
• What do you think the demands of the Kingdom are? Do you feel you can bring about the Kingdom on your own?
Practice:
• Turn away, repent, from one of your own “kingdoms.” Name that kingdom that you are still controlling and offer it to God. Make a resolute decision to accept Jesus’ offer and enter and receive the gift of God’s kingdom.
Week 5 - Kingdom - Day 24 - Thursday
Everyone has a desire or longing for life. Some of our expectations on life are different. Most people in the United States long for the American dream: health, wealth, family, and plenty of toys. Whatever our longings are, there is one that is deeper and that is for life. God promises a life higher than the physical life. It is the life of the Kingdom of God. This life is eternal. We often hear the question, “If you were to die tonight, where would you go?” A better Kingdom question would be, “If you were to live for eternity, how would you live?” God’s kingdom is eternal and, as citizens in that kingdom, we are eternal. Our values and desires should start to change as we enter the Kingdom of God.
Scripture:
• Read and meditate on Matthew 13:44-46.
Reflection:
• What competing desires do you have? Think about the tension between the world’s values and God’s kingdom values.
Practice:
Take some time to sit in the presence of God. Read Matthew 13:44-46 and discern, “What is the one thing you want the most?” What is your deepest desire?
Scripture:
• Read and meditate on Matthew 13:44-46.
Reflection:
• What competing desires do you have? Think about the tension between the world’s values and God’s kingdom values.
Practice:
Take some time to sit in the presence of God. Read Matthew 13:44-46 and discern, “What is the one thing you want the most?” What is your deepest desire?
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