The Seek God Challenge Day 30

January 30, 2012 by 2 Comments

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MINISTERING TO THE LORD

READ

“25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.

“1 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.”

-Acts 12:25 -13:3

THINK

The church at Antioch understood the importance of passionately seeking God and His direction. Keep in mind that there are things in our life that we don’t need to seek God on, such as sharing the Gospel, because we have been clearly commanded through scripture to do them. What would be an example of things you should seek God’s direction for?

Some translations use the phrase “ministering to the Lord” in verse two which is a great picture of what it means to worship. He is our audience and we are giving honor and attributing praise to God. The picture here is that they were giving up food to worship God. They refused to just sit casually and attend church as normal. How might fasting change your relationship with God?

Knowing the end result of this meeting, (1.3 billion people coming to Christ, 13 books of the NT, etc.) what then can we conclude might be accomplished by diligently seeking God through prayer and fasting?

PRAY

These thoughts and prayers are just a guide to get you started in your conversation with God. Think of them as conversation starters rather than a check list to quickly pray.

Pray that you will begin to desire God even more than lunch or dinner.

Thank the Lord that He hears our prayers and draws close to us when we draw close to Him.

DO

Make a plan to set aside tomorrow night and the following breakfast and lunch to seek the Lord through prayer and fasting.

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The Seek God Challenge Day 27

January 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment

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THE GOSPEL IS OUR ONLY HOPE

(THE JESUS FACTOR)

READ

“7 Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a total of thirty thousand lambs and goats for the Passover offerings, and also three thousand cattle—all from the king's own possessions.

8 His officials also contributed voluntarily to the people and the priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel, the officials in charge of God's temple, gave the priests twenty-six hundred Passover offerings and three hundred cattle.9 Also Konaniah along with Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad, the leaders of the Levites, provided five thousand Passover offerings and five hundred head of cattle for the Levites.

10 The service was arranged and the priests stood in their places with the Levites in their divisions as the king had ordered.11 The Passover lambs were slaughtered, and the priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them, while the Levites skinned the animals.12 They set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the subdivisions of the families of the people to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle.13 They roasted the Passover animals over the fire as prescribed, and boiled the holy offerings in pots, caldrons and pans and served them quickly to all the people.14 After this, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat portions until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the Aaronic priests.”

-2 Chronicles 35:7-14

“He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.”

-1 Peter 2:22

“9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”

-Romans 5:9

“9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”

-Colossians 2:9-15

THINK

We know that the point of the Passover was to celebrate the saving goodness of God, particularly in the way he led them out of Eygpt, we see through our other verses that Jesus is now responsible for our salvation. What does Romans 5:9 tell us about how Jesus saves us?

1 Peter 2:22 shows us that, all the while He was on the earth, Jesus was without sin. That He lived a human life just like ours and yet displayed the righteousness of God. What does that mean to you? The fact that Jesus came to demonstrate what a holy life looks like should hopefully encourage us.

Without the resurrection we’re all just wasting our time. Why or why not is this a true statement? Colossians 2:12-15 talks to us about the importance of us being raised from  the dead. According to yesterday what are we dead in? And then if we are dead in our sin, then we, through Jesus are made alive by the power of His resurrection.

PRAY

These thoughts and prayers are just a guide to get you started in your conversation with God. Think of them as conversation starters rather than a check list to quickly pray.

Praise God that He loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you.

Pray that today you would not take for granted what Jesus did for you and will allow that memory to lift Jesus up among those you come in contact with.

DO

Contact the last person who’s name is on your list. Just let them know that you are praying for them. Then do it.

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The Seek God Challenge Day 26

January 26, 2012 by 1 Comment

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THE GOSPEL IS OUR ONLY HOPE

(THE SIN PROBLEM)

READ

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

-Romans 6:16-20

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.”

-John 8:34

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

-2 Corinthians 4:4

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.

-Ephesians 4:18

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned …

-Romans 5:12

THINK

In the first three chapters of the Bible we watch God create a perfect world where humans and God walk together in sweet fellowship and then in an instance humans disobey God and bring sin and death into the world. Our passages today help us better see why, as a result of this, it is huge in our understanding that the Gospel is our only hope.

The Bible tells us clearly in both Romans 6:16-20 and, from Jesus Himself, in John 8 that we are slaves in sin. What comes to mind when you hear the word slavery? Could slaves just choose freedom? Could they just will their way out of slavery? Seeing the comparison what does that tell us about our condition concerning sin?

Likewise it gets worse and we read on to see that we aren’t only slaves to our sin but in fact we are dead. (Romans 5:12)

 What can dead men do about their condition? Fortunately God has not left us without a way out of death, think about in your life if you were physically dying, and someone you knew possessed the knowledge to restore you into life. Even better life than you experienced before you nearly died. How desperate would you be for that life? In the same way shouldn’t our knowledge of being born into slavery and death change how we reach out to this generation around us? Why is this most important?

PRAY

These thoughts and prayers are just a guide to get you started in your conversation with God. Think of them as conversation starters rather than a check list to quickly pray.

Acknowledge your sin before the Lord today.

Confess your failures to God and dwell on the fact that alone we are helpless

DO

Take your list from a few days ago and contact another member in the same way you did the first name. Just let them know that you are praying for them. Then do it.

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The Seek God Challenge Day 23

January 23, 2012 by 1 Comment

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THE GOSPEL IS OUR ONLY HOPE

READ

1 Josiah celebrated the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month.2 He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the Lord's temple.3 He said to the Levites, who instructed all Israel and who had been consecrated to the Lord: "Put the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon son of David king of Israel built. It is not to be carried about on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel.4 Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions, according to the instructions written by David king of Israel and by his son Solomon.

5 "Stand in the holy place with a group of Levites for each subdivision of the families of your fellow Israelites, the lay people.6 Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves and prepare the lambs for your fellow Israelites, doing what the Lord commanded through Moses."

7 Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a total of thirty thousand lambs and goats for the Passover offerings, and also three thousand cattle—all from the king's own possessions.

8 His officials also contributed voluntarily to the people and the priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel, the officials in charge of God's temple, gave the priests twenty-six hundred Passover offerings and three hundred cattle.9 Also Konaniah along with Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad, the leaders of the Levites, provided five thousand Passover offerings and five hundred head of cattle for the Levites.

10 The service was arranged and the priests stood in their places with the Levites in their divisions as the king had ordered.11 The Passover lambs were slaughtered, and the priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them, while the Levites skinned the animals.12 They set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the subdivisions of the families of the people to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle.13 They roasted the Passover animals over the fire as prescribed, and boiled the holy offerings in pots, caldrons and pans and served them quickly to all the people.14 After this, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat portions until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the Aaronic priests.

15 The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, were in the places prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun the king's seer. The gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts, because their fellow Levites made the preparations for them.

16 So at that time the entire service of the Lord was carried out for the celebration of the Passover and the offering of burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, as King Josiah had ordered.17 The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time and observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days.18 The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem.19 This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign.”

-2 Chronicles 35:1-19

THINK

We see Josiah unsatisfied with simply cleansing the land and having the people pledge to follow the Word of God in their lifetime. He goes a step further and reinstates the Passover festival to bring the nation to an annual remembrance of the greatness of God. What in your life is pointing people to the greatness of God?

The Passover was set to remember the salvation God provided for His children in Egypt. What is the salvation provided from God for you and me today?

In what ways does this generation need to see the delivery of salvation to this world? How can you be an example of that today?

PRAY

These thoughts and prayers are just a guide to get you started in your conversation with God. Think of them as conversation starters rather than a check list to quickly pray.

Pray that we will become focused on the fact that our only hope rests in the gospel of Christ.

Pray that the people you encounter in the days ahead will come to know Christ by your words and example.

DO

Take a moment and write down the names of three people that you know that need to experience the saving knowledge of the Gospel in their lives.

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The Seek God Challenge Day 22

January 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

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THE WORD MUST BE SHARED

READ

“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” -2 Timothy 4:2

THINK

Paul’s final instruction to his apprentice Timothy is to “preach the word” what images come to your mind when you hear that phrase?

We often think that it is simply the job of paid staff at churches or other Christian ministries to preach the word however; the Bible calls us to share. What difficulties come as a result of sharing the word in your life?

What fears are there that keeps you from sharing God’s word with others?

PRAY

These thoughts and prayers are just a guide to get you started in your conversation with God. Think of them as conversation starters rather than a check list to quickly pray.

Pray that God will help erase the misconceptions about sharing His word

Pray that the Lord will create a Spirit of boldness which will lead you to sharing God’s word with others.

DO

Share with someone today, something you’ve recently read in God’s word.

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