1/17/2020 0 Comments Your New FutureFor the most part, the future is unknown to us. As you discover your purpose, you will step into your new future. God will use your addictions to help those addicted. God will use your broken marriage to help others struggling in marriage. God will use that hardship of our past to bring himself glory in our future. Don’t sit in pity over your past mistakes but realize that God is ready to use them to help others today!
1. What are your thoughts about this statement? Refuse to let labels of the past limit God’s plan for your future. 2. How can your past empower your new future? Challenge: Make a list of your past mistakes and ask God to show you how he could use those for good in your new future.
0 Comments
1/16/2020 0 Comments Your New PurposeDo you know your purpose? This is something that many people want to know but don’t know how to discover it. As a follower of Christ, you have been given a purpose, a kingdom purpose. Your purpose is going to be connected to your life experiences and you’ll find it in the pages of Scripture. As you read daily, you will discover this purpose. God will reveal it to you as you allow him to speak to you through His Word.
1. What is your purpose? 2. How do you think reading the bible can help you discover this purpose? Challenge: Start reading your Bible every day for at least 15 minutes. Look for your purpose and you will find it! 1/15/2020 0 Comments Your New NameGod has given you a new name. In some cultures, people receive a “Christian” name when they decide to follow Christ. It is a powerful way of identifying with the new creation you’ve become. The new name God gives you is one that changes the labels you’ve been given and points to the truths of God’s love and grace for you.
1. What are some truths about God that combat your labels? Write some down (ex. Loved in place of unlovable) 2. What new name do you believe God has given you? Challenge: Pray this prayer this week: God, thanks for changing my name from lost to found, from rejected to loved, and from stuck to transformed. Holy Spirit, will You make my new labels stick as I go into this week? Amen. 1/14/2020 0 Comments God's ViewThink of the labels people have given you. It would be great if those were positive and affirming labels but the truth is many of them are negative. Do you believe those negative labels or do you believe that God sees you differently? It’s so easy to believe what others say and it so hard to trust that God does not believe those things about us. God’s view of you is much different than the world’s view and many times it is much different than even we believe about ourselves.
1. What are some labels you’ve hung on to? 2. Is there something in your future that would be limited by a current label? Challenge: Make a list of the negative labels you’ve been given and then ask God to take them away. Toss or burn the list a symbol of his love and forgiveness. 1/13/2020 0 Comments LabelsDo you label people? Think about how you might label someone while driving around town. When someone pulls out in front of you or is texting at a red light and doesn’t see the light change, what do you say? What do you call them? These are labels. You might have labels for your boss, coworkers or family members. Some we speak and others we keep to ourselves but they have equal damage.
1. What causes you to give someone a label? 2. What damage is done when you give a label? Challenge: Reverse your labels by giving a positive one to replace the negative. Speak that new label! 1/10/2020 0 Comments Make the First MoveEvery time I come home, my dog does the same thing: barks and squeals in excitement and brings me something. He usually brings me a shoe, but sometimes it’s one of his stuffed toys, every single time. He doesn’t wait for me to come and find him and greet him. He makes the first move every single time. How many of us wait for other people to make the first move? To be greeted first? To be asked how we’re doing first? Take a page from a dog’s playbook, and be a person who is the first to greet someone else.
1. Are you someone who greets others first or do you wait for others to greet you? 2. How can you be someone who is first to greet and welcome others? Challenge: Think about situations where you see people you know: at church, at the store, at work, or at school. Make a game to see how many people you can be the first to greet! 1/9/2020 0 Comments How Friendly Are You?Dogs are friendly. Yes, some dogs are mean and bite, but for the most part, dogs are friendly. Kind of like you and me. Some of us are friendly while others of us are mean and bite. Our verse today is the fruit of the spirit. As followers of Christ, others should see this fruit in our lives. We should be kinder, gentler, and friendlier than those who do not know Jesus.
1. Is your personality friendly or one that’s mean and bites? Why? 2. Which fruit of the spirit is most evident in your life? Which fruit is most lacking? Challenge: Be friendlier today. Be friendlier with a coworker, family member, spouse, parent, child, customer, client, student, cashier, salesperson, receptionist, or nurse. 1/8/2020 0 Comments Man's Best FriendDogs are often called man’s best friend and one of the reasons is their incredible loyalty. Perhaps you’ve seen pictures or videos of a dog lying before an owner’s casket or a dog reuniting with an owner after having gone missing. Dogs are loyal and they have much to teach us about how we can be loyal to our friends, our family, and those we care about.
1. How would you define loyalty? 2. Who is someone who has been loyal to you? Challenge: Be a loyal friend and family member. Who needs your loyalty today? Who needs you to check in on them today? Who needs you to ask how they’re doing? Identify that person and check in. 1/7/2020 0 Comments Does My Pet Go to HeavenPerhaps the most asked question from Christians about their pets concerns the afterlife: does my pet go to heaven? Scripture is pretty clear on the distinction between humanity and the rest of creation (including animals). The key distinction is women and men have souls (being created in God’s image) whereas animals do not. So we can be fairly certain our current pets will not be in heaven. However, we can also be fairly certain there will be animals in heaven (based on today’s passage from Isaiah and many others), and those animals may bear a strong resemblance to our current pets.
1. How are men and women different from animals? 2. How do you feel about the likeliness of animals being in heaven? Challenge: The loss of a pet can be very hard. When your friends or family lose a pet, be compassionate and empathetic as your family or friend grieves their loss. 1/6/2020 0 Comments Pets Are Fun!Jesus says the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but he (Jesus) has come that we may have a full life. There’s something fun about having a pet. Playing fetch with a dog. Watching a cat chase a laser. Even pets like birds and goldfish can be fun. Sometimes we unintentionally make our faith less fun with dos and don’ts. But Jesus is clear here that he has come to give us a full life and for many of us, a full life involves a pet.
1. Who or what was your first pet? 2. What do (or did) you enjoy about your pet? How does a pet bring fullness to your life? Challenge: Whether or not it’s a pet, think about things in life that make your life full or complete or happy. And then do more of those things! |
AuthorThis devotional is written every week by Hillcrest members. Archives
March 2024
Receive this devotional in your inbox every Monday - Friday.
|