Friday, January 8th, 2010

Week 3 / Day 5: God forgives me

Field trip

Psalm 103:1-5 (NLT)
1 Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. 2 Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. 3 He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. 4 He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. 5 He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

Think of a place you can go to that gives you a sense of awe of the grandeur of God.

• Along a river?
• Hiking on a trail?
• Where you can view a mountain range?
• A grass field?
• The top of a skyscraper?
• A park?

Read and re-read these verses several times and take the opportunity to thank God for who He is and all He has done in your life.

Think about it
What event or activity gives you the freedom to cheer and express yourself passionately? What would it be like to put that same enthusiasm and energy into living for God? Try it today—even if only for a few minutes.

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Week 3 / Day 4: God forgives me

Word association

Psalm 32:1-2 (NLT)
1 Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! 2 Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!

Write the word “Forgiveness” in the middle of the page and circle it. Think of all the benefits to forgiveness and write those around the circle. As specific memories from times you have been forgiven come to mind, write the names of the incidents and connect them to the circle. If names of people you need to forgive come to mind, add those as well. Add any additional thoughts about forgiveness (song lyrics, movie titles, books, etc.).

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Week 3 / Day 3: God forgives me

Memory verse

Colossians 1:13-14 (NLT)
13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

Write out today’s key verse on a piece of paper and take it with you to review throughout the day. Work through it phrase by phrase until you can recite it in its entirety. Write out any key thoughts you may have throughout the day.

Definition
Rescued:

1) To draw or snatch from danger, rescue, deliver. This is more with the meaning of drawing to oneself than merely rescuing from someone or something.

2) It forcefully portrays the gracious initiative and independent activity of God, the impotence and helplessness of man, and the contrast between the two modes of existence.

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Week 3 / Day 2: God forgives me

Prayer starters

1 John 1:8-10 (NLT)
8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Using the key verses of the day, spend time in prayer by completing these prayer starters.

“Dear God, I don’t want to play any games with You. You know the areas in which I struggle and I confess them to You now.”

“God, show me the steps I need to take to overcome my areas of temptation. What is it that I need to do today?”

“Father, is there someone I need to share this with to ask for help?”

“God, thank You for being faith and just and willing to forgive my sin.”

“Heavenly Father, is there anyone I need to forgive? Bring that person to mind and then give me the courage to do so.”

Monday, January 4th, 2010

Week 3 / Day 1: God forgives me

Section 1: Living the Big Idea

The big picture

Jeremiah 31:34b (NLT)
“And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

Deal or No Deal?
An actuary is a financial problem-solver, using math and statistics to calculate the odds that an event will happen. I’m not sure of the odds of becoming an actuary, but I can tell you if you want to achieve success in sports, stick to golf.

Odds of winning an Olympic medal: 662,000 to 1
Odds of becoming a pro athlete: 22,000 to 1
Odds of bowling a 300 game: 11,500 to 1
Odds of getting a hole in one: 5,000 to 1

If you want to stay injury free, play with fireworks and avoid showering. Read More…

Friday, December 25th, 2009

Week 2 / Day 5: God calls me friend

Verse search

Psalm 25:14 (NLT)
The Lord is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant.

Look up the following verses to discern what the phrase “fear of the Lord” means.

Proverb 1:7

Proverb 8:13

Proverb 9:10

Proverb 10:27

Proverb 14:27

Proverb 19:23

Using your new Bible knowledge, summarize today’s key verse.

PS Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

Week 2 / Day 4: God calls me friend

Devils’ advocate

Luke 7:34 (NLT)
The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’

Journal your reply to the statement that follows. Reflect on today’s key verse before responding.

“You think God considers you a friend? Ha! Not a chance. Maybe saints like Mother Theresa or Billy Graham, but not the average person—especially you.”

Think about it
What kind of relationship do you have with Jesus? Do you picture yourself as a reluctant servant or an intimate friend? The following questions will help you determine the quality of your relationship with Jesus:

• Do you do what he commands? (He wants you to love him enough to love others.)

• Do you know what he wants to do in the world? (He wants others to experience his love and know who he is.)

• Do you know how Jesus thinks? (He wants you to be familiar with what he heard from the Father.)

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Week 2 / Day 3: God calls me friend

Word study

James 2:23 (NLT)
And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.

Believe
The Hebrew word translated believe is from a root meaning “establish” or “confirm.” The English word amen, which is used to express approval, comes from the same root (Nehemiah 5:13; Psalm 41:13). Belief is one of the most important ideas in all the Bible, because a person must believe God in order to be saved from sin. For this very reason, the NT makes much of the fact that Abraham believed God (Hebrews 11:8–12). Whenever the Scriptures, OT or NT, state that a person “believed in the Lord,” it signals that the person has made a decision to treat God’s word as certain and has made a commitment to do what God wants (15:6; John 1:12).

Did you know?
Joshua 24:2 tells us that Abraham grew up in a family that worshipped ‘other gods.’ Still, God called Abraham to follow Him and he did. We don’t need an impressive resume to follow God—simply a willingness.

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

Week 2 / Day 2: God calls me friend

Survey says…

Exodus 33:11a (NLT)

Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.

Ask ten or more people the following question: Do you think God is our friend? Why or why not?

Compare the answers to today’s key verse and take time to pray as Moses would, as if speaking to a friend.

Did you know?
You can pray anytime you want—24 hours a day. In Psalm 55:17 David says, “Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice.”

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

Week 2 / Day 1: God calls me friend

The big picture

John 15:13-15 (NLT)
13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

He loves me. He loves me not.
We live in an era of fickle friendship. We laugh nervously while plucking petals from a flower to determine our relationship status. Sadly, many friendships are based on such a tenuous foundation.  That’s why this week’s BIG IDEA might appear scandalous: we are friends with God?

Some have no problem with this biblical statement and embrace God as they would a fuzzy teddy bear. Others claim a healthy “fear” of God would never allow such a display of affection or endearing association. Is one view correct? Is there any sacred middle ground? Read More…