March 17 - Holy and Honorable

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
John 18:28-40
1 Thessalonians 4:1-10
Old Testament -
Psalms 140
2 Chronicles 6-7
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses:
1 Thessalonians 4:3-7
3 It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.

Insight:
Christian faith and life involves the body. True spirituality involves the whole person--body, mind, spirit, thoughts, emotions, feelings, knowledge, reason, and relationships. The body is our point of connection with the world around us. It is the place from which we act, relate, and move in the world.

Sexuality is a very important part of our humanity, and it is far more than physical. It involves and relates to our whole person—body, mind, spirit, thoughts, emotions, feelings, and relationships. Little wonder, then, that it is God's will that we should avoid sexual immorality—that we should govern our bodies with care and reverence before God.

Sexual immorality is self-destructive to our personhood, it destroys relationships, it distorts our view of self, it denigrates our view of others, it sabotages our understanding of God, and undermines our desire for truth.

Response & Action:
I reject the lies of sexual objectification. I reject the cheapening of sexuality that comes through exploitation, violence, and selfishness. I reject the devaluation of human dignity that results from the pervasive deception that says the body is nothing more than flesh. In a world filled with broken relationships, empty promises, disrespect, hopelessness, self-gratification, and crude perversion, I choose to value a whole and holy life. I believe that salvation and redemption are for the whole person, and therefore believe it is God's will to treat sexuality as important, beautiful, and holy. I will pursue honor and purity, and turn away from sexual immorality.

O Lord, help me to be a good steward of all you have given me. Grant me the wisdom and the will to guard my heart, to feed my spirit, to stimulate my mind, and care for my body. Help me to honor you with my whole self. Help me to see and value the connections between body, mind, heart, spirit, and relationships. Thank you for the hope and promise that are mine in Christ Jesus. It's in his name that I pray. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Romans 6:12-14
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Resources:
Revolution of Character: Discovering Christ's Pattern for Spiritual Transformation
by Dallas Willard and Don Simpson

Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain
by William M. Struthers

March 16 - Grace, Love, and Power

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
John 18:19-27
1 Thessalonians 3:7-13
Old Testament -
Psalms 139
2 Chronicles 3-5
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses:
1 Thessalonians 3:11-13
11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

Insight:
Paul not only worked toward and taught about love, fellowship, and holiness; he also prayed for it. It's the grace of God that brings us together. It's the love of God that fills our hearts to overflowing with love for others. It's the power and presence of God that strengthens us to live holy lives. The promise and hope of Christ's return give a special urgency to his prayer.

Response & Action:
I will not just work and learn and talk about fellowship, love, and holiness; I will pray about it. I will pray for God's grace to form, strengthen, heal, and sustain my relationships. I will pray for God's love to fill me and make me truly ready and able to love others. I will pray for God's power to shape and transform my life--making me holy and whole. I will pray for grace, love, and power in the expectant hope of God's promises and Christ's return.

O Lord, teach me and show me your ways. Give me the wisdom and the will to follow, learn, and obey. Even more than your teaching and my efforts, I pray to be filled with your grace, your love, and your power. I cannot learn apart from your grace. My efforts are futile apart from your presence and power. Thank you for the hope and promise that are mine in Christ Jesus. It's in his name that I pray. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Romans 8:10-11
10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Resources:
40 Days Living the Jesus Creed
by Scot McKnight

March 15 - Downfall

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
John 18:1-18
1 Thessalonians 3:1-6
Old Testament -
Psalms 138
2 Chronicles 1-2
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: John 18:6-8
6 When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." 8 "I told you that I am he," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for me, then let these men go."

Insight:
John's account of Jesus' arrest includes a very important detail missing from the other gospels. It also seems to be missing from most contemporary recounts of the story. I've never seen this detail depicted in any Passion play, movie, or painting. I've rarely heard it talked about in sermons. Many Christians actually react with surprise when I point out this detail in John's eyewitness account.

When Judas led a detachment of soldiers and officials from the chief priests and Pharisees to the garden to arrest Jesus, an amazing thing happened. Jesus asked, "Who are you looking for?" They replied, "Jesus the Nazarene." Then Jesus said, "I am he," and when he said those words, Judas and all the soldiers and officials, with their swords and lanterns and torches, fell to the ground.

What an incredible display of Jesus' authority and the power of his word! Clearly, he would not have had to submit to their arrest. No wonder Peter was so emboldened to strike out at a guard. Jesus had made his point, and so asked for the release of his disciples, which was granted, and only then submitted to arrest.

Response & Action:
Jesus clearly did not have to submit to arrest. This demonstrates his free and selfless choice to suffer death on the cross for us and for our salvation. Today, I will offer up my thanks to Christ Jesus who loved me and gave himself for me. I will praise him for his selfless gift of salvation. As a follower of Jesus, I will endeavor to live a selfless life, and surrender myself to God in service to others.

Help me, O God, to have the same attitude that was in Christ Jesus. He emptied himself and was obedient to death—even death on a cross. Help me to empty myself and freely choose to live for you. Give me the grace and courage to serve others in the name and spirit of Jesus. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Philippians 2:4-8
4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Resources:
40 Days Living the Jesus Creed
by Scot McKnight

Reading Schedule for March 15-20

Mark 4:13-20
13 Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."

Schedule and Tips:
2009-10 Reading Schedule
Tips for Daily Bible Readers

March 15 -
John 18:1-18 / 1 Thessalonians 3:1-6
Psalms 138 / 2 Chronicles 1-2

March 16 -
John 18:19-27 / 1 Thessalonians 3:7-13
Psalms 139 / 2 Chronicles 3-5

March 17 -
John 18:28-40 / 1 Thessalonians 4:1-10
Psalms 140 / 2 Chronicles 6-7

March 18 -
John 19:1-16 / 1 Thessalonians 4:11-18
Psalms 141 / 2 Chronicles 8-9

March 19 -
John 19:17-27 / 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Psalms 142 / 2 Chronicles 10-12

March 20 -
John 19:28-37 / 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
Psalms 143 / 2 Chronicles 13-16

March 13 - I Pray Also...

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
John 17:20-26
1 Thessalonians 2:10-20
Old Testament -
Psalms 137
1 Chronicles 29
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: John 17:20-21
20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Insight:
While it's usually confusing to most people, I like to refer to this chapter as "The Lord's Prayer." The model prayer Jesus gave his disciples when they asked him to teach them how to pray is profound and beautiful (Luke 11:1-4). The prayer of Jesus recorded in John 17 is very personal and deeply relational. It gives insight into his sense of mission and his hope for the world.

Jesus asked his Father God to help him accomplish his purpose in a way that would demonstrate divine love and glory. He asked God to protect, sustain, and guide his disciples. He asked God to help them know the truth and to live holy lives. He prayed for the unity of believers—not just for those who were following him at that point, but for all believers who through the testimony of the disciples would subsequently come to believe in him.

Response & Action:
In this prayer of Jesus, I can recognize his claim to divinity. He calls God his Father and claims to have been present with God in glory before the world began. I also recognize Jesus' call to his disciples to follow him in faith, to walk in holiness, to be witnesses of the truth, to share the gospel, and to live in unity with other believers.

O God, thank you for Jesus and his prayer for all who believe in him. Thank you, Jesus, for interceding for your people at God's right hand. By the power and grace of your Holy Spirit, help me to grow in my faith, to lead a righteous life, to be a light, to live in harmony and shared purpose with other believers, and to give glory to God. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Psalm 133:1
1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!

Resources:
40 Days Living the Jesus Creed
by Scot McKnight

March 12 - Caring Like a Parent

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
John 17:6-19
1 Thessalonians 2:1-9
Old Testament -
Psalms 136
1 Chronicles 26-28
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: 1 Thessalonians 2:6b-12
6b As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7 but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. 9 Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

Insight:
Paul uses the imagery of parenthood to describe the nurturing role that he and his missionary companions served in Thessalonica. Like a mother with her children, they loved and delighted in the people they served. They didn't merely teach; they shared their very lives. Like a good father, they encouraged, comforted, and prodded their new converts to live lives that honor God, and to see themselves as Kingdom people with a purpose to fulfill.

This is a good model for spiritual guidance and mentoring. Christian leaders would do well to choose the model of loving and nurturing parents over the entrepreneurial, business, marketing, coach/expert models that seem to be more prevalent today. Nurture is more likely to flow out of relationships than lessons.

Response & Action:
I need to see relationships as the basis for real spiritual nurture and Christian mentoring. I need to look for this kind of leadership and example for my own maturity in Christ. I need to become this kind of leader to serve and bless others.

O God, bring spiritual leaders into my life who nurture and encourage me as good parents love and guide their children. Help me to be an encouraging and loving friend, example, and mentor to anyone who is looking to me for spiritual guidance and support. Help me to love and delight in the people I serve. I pray through Christ, your son, who has demonstrated true servanthood, and calls me to be a servant too. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: John 13:14-17
14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Resources:
Full Service: Moving from Self-Serve Christianity to Total Servanthood
by Siang-Yang Tan

March 11 - Imitators

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
John 17:1-5
1 Thessalonians 1
Old Testament -
Psalms 135
1 Chronicles 23-25
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: 1 Thessalonians 1:4-7
4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

Insight:
The Thessalonian Christians had a faith in Christ and a commitment to him that was very plain to see. Their faith was more than words. Their lives were changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. They lived with deep conviction and followed the pattern for life given to them by the Apostle Paul. They were not deterred from following Jesus, even if it resulted in suffering. Their work produced by faith, their labor prompted by love, and their endurance inspired by hope in Christ provided a wonderful model for all Christians to follow.

Response & Action:
My faith in Christ must be more than words. Real faith in Christ will change my life in deep and significant ways. I want to experience the power and grace of the Holy Spirit at work in my life. My convictions must be deep. My faith must be lived. My devotion to Christ must persevere through hardship and suffering. I will follow the lead of mature Christians who exemplify true faith as they are shaped by the Spirit and remain faithful to Christ through thick and thin.

Lord God, let my faith be more than words. Grant me a deep conviction to following Christ and transform me by the power of your Holy Spirit. Thank you for those Christian men and women who are good examples for me to follow. Help me, by faith, to do good works; give me endurance inspired by my hope in Jesus; and may my love for Christ prompt me to be his faithful servant. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Hebrews 6:11-12
11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

Resources:
40 Days Living the Jesus Creed
by Scot McKnight

March 10 - In This World

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
John 16:25-33
Colossians 4:10-18
Old Testament -
Psalms 133-134
1 Chronicles 20-22
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: John 16:33
33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Insight:
In these hours when his death, resurrection, and return to the Father were imminent, Jesus gave his disciples important promises and provision. He promised to send the Holy Spirit who would convict the world of sin and guide them into all truth. He promised that though they would face grief and trouble, he would sustain them, and ultimately their grief would turn to joy. He promised them that they could make requests to God in his name, and that God would provide for them and make their joy complete. He promised them that though in this world they would see trouble, they could take heart and live in faith, being confident that he had overcome the world.

Response & Action:
I will look to the Holy Spirit for truth, guidance, and understanding. I will hold on to Christ Jesus through every hardship and grief. I expect to find hope in Jesus, trusting that God hears and answers every request I offer up to him in Jesus' name. I need to remember that though troubles are a certainty in this broken world, Jesus has overcome the world and will one day set all things right. I will take courage and comfort in these promises.

O God, thank you for the Holy Spirit who convicts, guides, teaches and renews me. Thank you for the promise and hope I have in Christ. Help me to take courage as I face troubles and hardship, and help me to overcome through faith in Jesus. O God, sustain me by your Spirit. Redeem and renew all things through Jesus. May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Psalm 85:6-9
6 Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? 7 Show us your unfailing love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation. 8 I will listen to what God the LORD will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints—but let them not return to folly. 9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.

Resources:
Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent
by Ben Patterson

March 9 - Praying with Open Eyes

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
John 16:12-24
Colossians 4:1-9
Old Testament -
Psalms 132
1 Chronicles 17-19
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: Colossians 4:2-6
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Insight:
Prayer is something that requires devotion. True devotion is demonstrated through intentional practices and committed routines in daily life. Faithfulness in prayer will help me be watchful and thankful. Praying for people will make me more thoughtful and aware of their needs, relationships, responsibilities, joys, and sorrows.

Consistent times of prayer will also help me to see the many ways God is working, saving, sustaining, and blessing. This will result in an attitude of gratitude and a desire to give thanks and praise to God.

A devoted prayer life includes a concern for the spreading of the gospel of Christ Jesus. It's important to pray for missionaries, churches, and evangelistic ministries. It's also important to pray about my own witness for Christ in everyday life and conversation.

Response & Action:
I must be committed to prayer and be intentional about how and when I will pray. I will exercise my commitment to prayer with a thoughtful approach to who and what I pray about. I will strive to develop consistent prayer routine. I will keep a prayer journal, noting the ways I see God responding to my prayers. I will ask God to open doors for missionaries and evangelists who are taking the message of Christ around the world. I will also pray for God's help to be a gracious and winsome witness for Christ in my everyday life and conversations.

Gracious God, thank you for hearing the prayers of your people. Open my eyes to needs and situations around me as I pray. Give me a heart of gratitude and lips that praise you as my time in prayer helps me to see the many ways you answer and bless. Guide and sustain your servants who are taking the good news of Jesus to those who do not yet know him. Give me a gracious and seasoned demeanor as I go about my life today, that I might be an effective and salty witness for the hope and life you freely give through Christ. In his name, I pray. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Ephesians 6:18-20
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Resources:
Praying: Finding Our Way Through Duty to Delight
by J. I. Packer and Carolyn Nystrom

March 8 - Living Praise

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
John 16:1-11
Colossians 3:15-25
Old Testament -
Psalms 130-131
1 Chronicles 15-16
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: 1 Chronicles 16:8-10
8 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 9 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

Insight:
David was quick to praise God for what God had promised, for what God had done, and for what God was doing. Now that the nation of Israel was beginning to be united under his leadership, he wanted to make sure that the praise and worship of God was central to his reign.

He brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem from the house of Abinadab where it had sat, largely ignored, during the years of Saul's reign. He envisioned building a Temple as a place of worship for God's people. It would serve as a testimony to the nations of God's faithfulness to Israel and be a place for the Ark of God to reside.

Response & Action:
David saw his life in the long context of the history of Israel and God's promises to Abraham and God's plan to redeem the world. He understood that it was necessary for worship, thanksgiving, and faith to be at the very heart of his life and his nation. I want to see and understand my life in the greater context of God's plan and promises. I want to make faith, worship, and thankfulness the foundation of all I do.

O God, help me to see how my life is connected to the lives of all the faithful believers and seekers who have gone before me. Help me to find my purpose and life in you. Grant me the wisdom and readiness to obey, serve, worship, and honor you. May my thoughts, words, and actions flow out of my relationship with you and your people. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: 1 Peter 2:9-10
9 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. 10 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.

Resources:
Worship & Celebration
by Jan Johnson

Reading Schedule for March 8-13

Colossians 3:15-17
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Schedule and Tips:
2009-10 Reading Schedule
Tips for Daily Bible Readers

March 8 -
John 16:1-11 / Colossians 3:15-25
Psalms 130-131 / 1 Chronicles 15-16

March 9 -
John 16:12-24 / Colossians 4:1-9
Psalms 132 / 1 Chronicles 17-19

March 10 -
John 16:25-33 / Colossians 4:10-18
Psalms 133-134 / 1 Chronicles 20-22

March 11 -
John 17:1-5 / 1 Thessalonians 1
Psalms 135 / 1 Chronicles 23-25

March 12 -
John 17:6-19 / 1 Thessalonians 2:1-9
Psalms 136 / 1 Chronicles 26-28

March 13 -
John 17:20-26 / 1 Thessalonians 2:10-20
Psalms 137 / 1 Chronicles 29

March 6 - Unity Clothes

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
John 15:18-27
Colossians 3:1-14
Old Testament -
Psalms 129
1 Chronicles 12-14
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: Colossians 3:12-15
12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Insight:
Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience are all prominent characteristics of God's people. These qualities are essential if people who follow Christ are to become a "people"--a community. Forbearance and forgiveness are also essential to community. Love is at the heart of all of this. Christ's love, peace, and forgiveness are what make it possible for his people to love each other and live together in unity.

Response & Action:
Are compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience prominent characteristics of my life? Are these the qualities I am known for by others? I need to think about Christ's great love and forgiveness for me. I need to consider how I can follow his example and exercise love, forbearance, grace, and mercy toward others.

Paul says instructs Christians to "clothe themselves" with these virtues. This instruction makes it clear that action on my part is needed for this to happen. I will give effort to the things that will help me cultivate, learn, and live out these virtues.

O God, thank you for the love, mercy, and forgiveness you have for your people. Help me to clothe myself with the virtues of love, humility, gentleness, and patience, that I might experience true Christian community and make a positive contribution to it. Help me to graciously forgive and forbear others and live in peace with everyone as much as is possible. Help me, and my circle of Christian friends, to be a testimony of your truth and grace as we live in unity. Help our community to be marked by love, gentleness, service, and peace. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Romans 15:5-6
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Resources:
Life Together
by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

March 5 - Bearing Fruit

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
John 15:9-17
Colossians 2:16-23
Old Testament -
Psalms 128
1 Chronicles 10-11
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: John 15:5-8
5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Insight:
Living in relationship with Jesus is essential to becoming a person who glorifies God. In the same way a branch must be connected to the vine in order to produce fruit, I must live in connection with Christ. If I am abiding in Jesus, my life will bear fruit that is consistent with Jesus. Loving as Christ has loved is the best evidence that I am abiding in him. Bearing the fruit of Christ's love brings glory to God.

Response & Action:
I will do all I can to abide in Christ. I will look to Jesus for the guidance, the power, the nurture, and the transformation I need to love as he loves. I will be intentional about seeking Christ through prayer, study, obedience, community, worship, and service. I do not want anything to threaten or diminish my connection with Jesus, and so I will put those things aside and ask God to prune away those dead branches that stifle my wellbeing and fruitfulness.

O God, thank you for the fruitful life I am able to live through Christ. Help me to stay connected to Jesus. By the power and grace of his Holy Spirit, lead, teach, transform, shape and strengthen me, that I might delight in your will, and walk in your ways to the glory of your name. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Ephesians 5:8-10
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 11 and find out what pleases the Lord.

Resources:
The Fruitful Life
by Jerry Bridges

March 4- Rooted, Built, and Strengthened

Today's Readings:
New Testament -
John 15:1-8
Colossians 2:8-15
Old Testament -
Psalms 127
1 Chronicles 7-9
Click on Text Links to Read Online

Focus Verses: Colossians 2:6-10
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

Insight:
Putting faith in Christ Jesus and surrendering to his authority is the beginning to a new life that must be continued and lived out. As our roots grow deep into Christ and our hearts are strengthened by faith in him, our lives are built up; we are able to do what we've been taught, and thankfulness flows out of us.

Response & Action:
I must not let my faith in Christ become a powerless list of rules, beliefs, and traditions, or be reduced to a philosophical system of principles. My faith is rooted in Christ. He is my hope because he embodies the fullness of Deity. As I receive Christ, his fullness becomes my fullness. He is greater than every power and authority. It is by his power and authority that my life can be transformed.

I desire to live a transformed life, and to be built up with Christ as my foundation. He is the one who saves me--not religion, not a set of ideas, not traditions, not spiritual disciplines, and not rules. All these become distractions unless they lead me to a deeper love and relationship with Jesus. They are only valuable to me as a means of growing into and building upon Jesus, who is the hope of my life and the power for living.

O God, help me to know and experience Christ Jesus more each day. My faith and hope are in him. Strengthen and increase my faith, as I put down deep roots through the study of scripture, prayer, service, obedience, and fellowship with other believers. O Jesus, all authority and power belong to you. Lead me, teach me, and transform me into your likeness. May my life overflow with thanksgiving as I continue to build my life on you. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Ephesians 3:16-19
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Resources:
Deep-Rooted in Christ: The Way of Transformation
by Joshua Choonmin Kang