The Everyday Prayer

 Re:Verse passage – Matthew 4:18-19; 1 Corinthians 3:6-9; Galatians 4:4–7 (day five)
Read this a while back… “The danger of not reading God’s Word and not having a close walk with Christ, is that your ability can become your identity.”  I would extend this thought to include not only ability, but activity as well. This is the truth that Jesus used to call Peter and Andrew (fishers of men). It is the message that Paul was communicating to the Corinthians (neither… is anything) It is also the picture Paul describes to the Galatians (no longer a slave). The gospel reorients our complete perspective about ourselves, others, and the world in which we live. As disciples of Christ, our hearts and minds are constantly being redirected and recalibrated to find, understand, and reflect His grace and glory.
Paul Tripp says it this way, “So you and I aren’t left to our own maturity, character, ingenuity, righteousness, wisdom, or power. Not only that, but the gospel redefines how we understand our whole story, how we think about the meaning of life, how we understand the human struggle, where we get our identity, where we look for peace and security, what we consider in life to be dangerous, what we see as successful living, and so on.”

 Re:Verse passage – Matthew 4:18-19; 1 Corinthians 3:6-9; Galatians 4:4–7 (day four)

It’s proper to end this study with a discussion of who we are and who we’re called be. If we’re going to be discipled, we need to know the shape we’re being formed into.

Matthew tells us that we’re called. We aren’t passive actors in God’s world, with life simply happening to us. We’re called to go into the world with intention and share the gift we’ve received. We’re called to seek after the lost, to be “fishers of men.” We have a role to play in this grand cosmic play. 1 Corinthians reminds us that while we have a role to play, we are not the end-all be-all. We can prepare people to encounter Christ, we can introduce them Christ, but we cannot enact salvation in their life. Our role is to point people to Christ, knowing he is faithful to work in their hearts.

Galatians reminds us that because of God’s mercy and Christ’s sacrifice, our identity is now wrapped up in Jesus. We are adopted into the family of God, sons and daughters – not slaves. As we continue to understand our identity in Christ, we will be able to more faithfully live out the role he has given us – faithfully showing others the love and mercy of our Father.

How have you felt this identity and role taking shape in your life lately?

 Re:Verse passage – Matthew 4:18-19; 1 Corinthians 3:6-9; Galatians 4:4–7 (day three)

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. (1 Cor. 3:6)

What role do you have in sharing the Gospel with someone else? We can see here in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians that we all play a part in various people coming to know the Lord. God places people in our path each and every day that we are called to share the Gospel with. Is it the person taking your order at the restaurant today? Is it the parent you are volunteering with at a practice or at your kid’s school? It is the co-worker that keeps popping into your office for small talk? Is it the person you bumped into at the grocery store? Is it that person you have been avoiding for a while now?

God doesn’t need us. He is the One that makes growth happen. The next few verses of 1 Corinthians 3 make that abundantly clear to us. However, we do have the incredible privilege, joy, and honor to be used by the Lord to help someone else grow. God causes growth and we get to be a part of that growth!

There are people that you will cross paths with today that God has called you to share the Gospel with and to disciple. Who is it?

Re:Verse passage – Matthew 4:18-19; 1 Corinthians 3:6-9; Galatians 4:4–7 (day two)
But when the fullness of the time came…v. 4a

I have loved this text for years, and each time I re-read it I marvel at God’s great design. There is a cosmic orchestration that has been playing out since creation to fulfill a grand design that we can only guess at. Jesus’ incarnation was the pivotal moment in human history, and the timing was not by chance. All of the world was primed to receive, and all of the world was changed. Your role as an heir in this orchestration is also beautifully rendered in the tapestry of time. As believers who are seeking to honor the Lord with our lives, we should take these words as a sign that God is fully aware of circumstances, forces, situations, and struggles. As such, we must trust his timing as perfect. Trust the timing even if it feels too long. He got it right with Jesus; he will get it right with you, too.

Re:Verse passage –Mark 1:1-4; Luke 4:42-44; Acts 5:42; 11:19-21 (day seven)

[…] they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus […] every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. Acts 5:40-42

Re:Verse passage –Mark 1:1-4; Luke 4:42-44; Acts 5:42; 11:19-21 (day six)

Today we rarely speak of Jesus as King, yet this stood at the heart of the earliest Christian announcement: Jesus is the risen King. The words good news and Messiah belong together. Messiah means God’s anointed King. In the Roman world, εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion), or good news, could describe a public announcement about an emperor—his birth, accession to the throne, or victory in battle. When Augustus rose to power, good news was proclaimed across the empire.

When Jesus’ disciples announced the good news, they made a greater declaration: the crucified Jesus had been raised from the dead and enthroned by God as Israel’s true king (Messiah) and the world’s true Lord. Through his death and resurrection, this King broke the enslaving powers of sin and death and opened the way to forgiveness, freedom, and new life. This message brought hope to those longing for deliverance and threatened others.

Good news about a King is never mere information. It asks every hearer: Who rules? Will I trust this King, receive his redemption, and live under his gracious reign?

Re:Verse passage –Mark 1:1-4; Luke 4:42-44; Acts 5:42; 11:19-21 (day five)

Is this the kindest “No” you’ve ever seen. Jesus is doing incredible ministry- healing and casting out demons. Really good work. Meeting needs. Encouraging others. Bringing hope and joy. Yet, Jesus decides to leave them, even though they beg Him to stay.
It’s much easier to discern between right and wrong, good and bad, healthy and unhealthy. But Jesus gains clarity and certainty between better and best- much more difficult. Don’t overlook Jesus’ intentional rhythm of “time alone with God” (When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place;). Jesus then responds with fresh conviction and courage. Telling them “no” could not have been easy, but Jesus moves on in order to fulfill his mission. Does our time alone with God bring clarity, courage, and conviction? Does our time alone with God result in trust and obedience?  All are needed. All are required.

Re:Verse passage –Mark 1:1-4; Luke 4:42-44; Acts 5:42; 11:19-21 (day four)

Between Scripture and our Baptist theological tradition, we are left with no excuses to not be preaching the gospel. Baptists believe in the “priesthood of the believer,” which in part means it is not only the job of the clergy to preach the gospel, but every believer is called to this work. Scripture makes it very clear that sharing the gospel is a core tenant of the life of faith and dedication to Christ. We are left with no excuses to not share the good news.

So what keeps us from sharing it? Is it fear? Worry over how it will be received? Concern that we’re “not doing it right”? Have we overcomplicated it? All of these may be true. Preaching the gospel is simply giving testimony to what you have experienced in Christ. It’s letting people into your knowledge of and friendship with the Savior. The call to preach the gospel is a call to live authentically in our relationships and encounters with those who are lost. We don’t have to memorize a formula or have an answer for every possible question; we simply have to share what is true about our life with others – that we have been redeemed by the grace and mercy of Christ. If your identity in Christ is the most true and most important thing about you, then it must be shared with the people you encounter. That is preaching the gospel. How might the Lord be asking you to live authentically this week?

Re:Verse passage –Mark 1:1-4; Luke 4:42-44; Acts 5:42; 11:19-21 (day three)

 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. (Acts 11:21)

Do you ever struggle with thinking you can’t share the Gospel well? I know that many of us do. Satan uses fear and doubt to throw us off course in following the Lord and His leading all the time. Here in Acts 11, we find Christians that have been scattered to a new place and facing unknown circumstances. Yet, they decided to keep trusting the Lord and doing what they were doing before. Then the author (Luke) reminds us that Lord, or Lord’s hand, was with them. These men and women “had a job to do” and continued doing it even though the original circumstances changed.

Paul asks in Romans 10:14, How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? We get to share the Good News of Jesus and salvation. We are compelled to do so. As we have studied discipleship over these past two months, we now get to the part where we are challenged and compelled to “go!” If you have not heard that before now in our study, then hear it now…Go! The Lord will help you and give you everything you need to follow Him faithfully. He has promised us that and shown Himself to be faithful before. We just need to be willing to go. If you do, I am sure that you will be able to look back and say, “The Lord’s hand was with me!”