Holiness: Day #40

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Holiness: Day #40

45 Days of Prayer

October 19, 2023 • Devotion Leader • Hebrews 12:14

Holiness is often avoided when it comes to pleasant conversation. Who wants to talk about that! In truth, holiness is very special in God’s eyes. Holiness is in right acting; having a character that reflects God’s true nature and love. This is exactly why holiness is so important to God. It’s where we develop and show one of the most profound types of intimacy and connection with Him. Holiness is where we live the character of God.

Think about how that can impact how we testify to his love and grace. Think about what living out God’s justice in our own lives can do for the world around us. So many try to make the law reflect God’s character, when he is calling his children to reflect his character. It is easy to make laws, it is hard to live in holiness. And we often avoid holiness in a particular part of life, and it makes our lives more difficult. Spend some time probing areas of your life where God might be calling you to a higher standard and ask what you can do to honor him more.

Father, so much of what we do falls short of who you are. But we want to honor you with our lives. Show us places where we don’t obey and give us the power that resurrected Jesus to help us live a new life! We acknowledge so much of the holiness you see in us comes from him, and we want more reflected in our actions. Teach us Lord and lead our hearts and minds. We pray this in Christ’s name, Amen.

Doing Life Together: Day #45

October 24, 2023 • Devotion Leader • Hebrews 10:25

As Christians, we are called to live in community, to do life together. Community is a beautiful thing, but it’s also messy and requires vulnerability and grace. In our school age years, we are thrown into a group and forced to build community with the guidance of a teacher. As adults, it’s much easier to just keep to ourselves; going to work, paying bills, cooking, and cleaning; Living without any real community. So, the human connection we all crave leaves a mark. However, if we want to have this community and be faithful to our calling, we must learn to create spaces to connect and build community. We must choose to open our schedule, homes, and our lives to invite others in. Doing life together like Jesus requires us to be vulnerable and this is difficult. Yet, some of our greatest blessings in life are the individuals and families with whom we’ve had the courage to build the type of community Jesus demonstrated. This isn’t easy. It takes forgiveness, patience, sacrifice, and old-fashioned grit. Are you doing life together with anyone? Are you open to being vulnerable and allowing others in? Father, thank you for not having to walk through life alone. Thank you for the gift of community and doing life together. Guide us to establish deep friendships and to be willing to be vulnerable enough to do life together., prepare us for a new season of growth and that he would open new doors for Adventure! In Christ name we pray, Amen.

Engaging Our Community: Day #44

October 23, 2023 • Devotion Leader • 2 Corinthians 10:5

So much of the world, the community around us has a ‘been there, done that” attitude toward the church. There is a history there. It is easy to settle into different “camps” of “us” and “them.” Often, we don’t even notice we do it. But Jesus came from heaven in many ways, like an invasion force to break us out of the bonds to slavery. We had no hope, but he found a way. We had no reason to live, but He showed us the truth and made us children of God. We must carry the light and expose the darkness for what it is. We have to take the truth in a way they can understand it. This means we need to know the words they use, how they use them, and why, to know how to best communicate the eternal truths and make the idea’s we follow obedient to Christ. At the same time, we must continue to demonstrate the grace that is in Christ Jesus to those who do not believe. This isn’t easy. It takes time and we must work hard to not be led away by false ideas that may seem pleasant to the heart. We must trust the Spirit to lead us to the truth and obey it wherever it leads us. Father, as we look to the people in our community, help us to find ways to understand how to communicate best the truths you preserved in your scripture. Give us the grace to live what we believe, so that the world can see no hypocrisy in us. Father, we pray that our servant hearts demonstrate the engagement we seek with our minds. We pray this in Christ name, Amen.

Following God's Word: Day #43

October 22, 2023 • Devotion Leader • John 17:16–19

What we have when we read the Bible is truly remarkable. Scripture has power in them to cultivate a heart that is soft and malleable in God’s hand. They can sharpen the mind of those who meditate on them. Following the words of scripture is more than just mimicking the behaviors we see there, recognizing habits, passions, virtues and purposes. Then, in turn, making them a part of who we are and what we do. Jesus knew the power words have on our lives. Words can be spoken in anger or in joy and have an impact on the lives of grandchildren’s children. What words are you speaking into your life? What words do you meditate on in the evening and in the quiet? What words are blaring mindlessly in your ears from the radio when you work? All of these words can have an effect on our lives, for good or evil. Let us give attention to what we put on our heart, and see what happens when we let Scripture frame what we put on our hearts and minds. Heavenly Father, we look to your word for our hope and training. It is by your words that we live, this we acknowledge. Help us to make the words we allow to influence our life be Your word. May it wash over our hearts and guide our minds. May the thoughts and meditations of our heart and mind be pleasing to you, Lord, in Jesus’ name I pray – Amen.