Based on “Freedom in the Flames” by Pastor Dave Folkerts; 7/26-27/08,
Message #DF133; Daily Devotional #5 “God Doesn’t Want You to Do Life by Yourself”
Preparing the Soil (Introduction): Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. (Matthew 16:24, NLT). You have been going to church all your life and believe in God, so you have faith that you are going to heaven. But are you attempting to follow Christ, or are you still living for yourself? I have been there! I spent all my life in church, thinking that I believed in God and would go to heaven, but I was far from attempting to live like Christ. Living for self is difficult and often leaves us angry, confused, and unhappy with ourselves. That is because God didn’t intend on us doing life by ourselves.
Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth): God wants only the best for the man or woman He created in His image. He loves us unconditionally, and His love is unfailing. He is the only one who knows what is best for us—we just need to obediently trust Him, as the three Hebrew youths did in our teaching this week (Daniel 3). Stop living for yourself. God has far better plans for your life than you can ever imagine. “For I know the plans I have for you”, says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me” (Jeremiah 29:11-13, NLT). God says if you look for Him earnestly, you will find Him. He will listen when you are serious about letting Him have control. He created you and everything else in this universe. His knowledge is far superior to anything we could rationalize. Our human thinking is nonsense compared to His, and to think we spend so much time trying to plan our future! The Scriptures says God will destroy human wisdom and any brilliant ideas. We will not find God through human wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:19-22).
Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): About the time I felt I was at rock bottom, I met a group of true Christ followers who walked what they talked. They had a profound impact on my life. Your life as a Christ follower can have a profound impact on those around you. Scripture says that those who truly belong to Christ will be known by their fruit. What does your fruit say about you? But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5:22-23, NLT).
Cultivating (Additional Reading): Hebrews 4
jej
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All Bible references are from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted.
New King James Version = NKJV, New Living Translation = NLT.