DAY06 Called to Grow
Today’s Bible Reading
2 Peter 1:3–9
For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive. — 2 Peter 1:8
The sea squirt is a strange creature. Found attached to rocks and shells, it looks like a soft plastic tube waving with the current. Drawing its nutrients from the passing water, it lives a passive life far removed from its once–active youth.
The sea squirt starts life as a tadpole with a primitive spinal cord and brain that helps it find food and avoid harm. As a juvenile, it spends its days exploring the ocean, but something happens when it reaches adulthood. Settling on its rock, it stops exploring and growing. In a macabre twist, it digests its own brain.
Spineless, thoughtless, flowing passively with the current. The apostle Peter encourages us not to follow the sea squirt’s fate. Since maturity for us means taking on God’s nature (2 Peter 1:4), you and I are called to grow—grow mentally in our knowledge of Christ (3:18); spiritually in traits like goodness, perseverance, and self-control (1:5–7); and practically by exploring new ways to love, offer hospitality, and serve others through our gifts (1 Peter 4:7–11). Such growth, Peter says, will stop us from living “ineffective and unproductive” lives (2 Peter 1:8).
This calling to grow is as vital for the seventy-year-old as it is for the teenager. God’s nature is as vast as the ocean. We’ve barely swum a few feet. Explore His unending character, take new spiritual adventures. Study, serve, take risks. Grow.
By: Sheridan Voysey
Questions:
1. How has God called us (2 Peter 1:3)?
2. In Day 1, we chose one Christlike quality to grow in: faith, goodness, knowledge, selfcontrol, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love. How has your progress been?
3. On a scale of 1 to 10, how sure are you of your salvation? How can you confirm this with greater certainty (1:10-11)?
Prayer:
Father God, please help me to see myself as You see me, and live out that victorious identity in the world. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
DAY07 A Disciplined Life in God
Today’s Bible Reading
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
I discipline my body and keep it under control. — 1 Corinthians 9:27
It was June 2016 during the official celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s ninetieth birthday. From her carriage, the monarch waved to the crowds, passing in front of long lines of red-coated soldiers standing at perfect, unflinching attention. It was a warm day in England, and the guards were dressed in their traditional dark wool pants, wool jackets buttoned to the chin, and massive bear-fur hats. As the soldiers stood in rigid rows under the sun, one guard began to faint. Remarkably, he maintained his strict control and simply fell forward, his body remaining straight as a board as he planted his face in the sandy gravel. There he lay—somehow still at attention.
It took years of practice and discipline for this guard to learn such self-control, to hold his body in place even as he was falling unconscious. The apostle Paul describes such training: “I discipline my body and keep it under control,” he wrote (1 Corinthians 9:27 esv). Paul recognized that “everyone who competes . . . goes into strict training” (v. 25)
While God’s grace (not our efforts) undergirds all we do, our spiritual life deserves rigorous discipline. As God helps us discipline our mind, heart, and body, we learn to keep our attention fixed on Him, even amid trials or distractions.
By: Winn Collier
Questions:
1. What does it mean to “Run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24)?
2. Speaking of running competitions and strict training, (1 Corinthians 9:25), which aspect of spiritual training have you been working on since Day 2’s devotional? Share your progress and your experiences.
3. What does Paul mean by, “I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave” (1 Corinthians 9:27)?
Prayer:
Dear God, please teach me how to be more disciplined for You. I want to grow my love for You and keep my heart close to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
DAY08 Prayer Marathon
Today’s Bible Reading
1 Thessalonians 5:16-28
Pray continually. — 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Do you struggle to maintain a consistent prayer life? Many of us do. We know that prayer is important, but it can also be downright difficult. We have moments of deep communion with God and then we have times when it feels like we’re just going through the motions. Why do we struggle so in our prayers?
The life of faith is a marathon. The ups, the downs, and the plateaus in our prayer life are a reflection of this race. And just as in a marathon we need to keep running, so we keep praying. The point is: Don’t give up!
That is God’s encouragement too. The apostle Paul said, “pray continually” (1 Thess. 5:17), “keep on praying” (Rom. 12:12 nlt), and “devote yourselves to prayer” (Col. 4:2). All of these statements carry the idea of remaining steadfast and continuing in the work of prayer.
And because God, our heavenly Father, is a personal being, we can develop a time of close communion with Him, just as we do with our close human relationships. A. W. Tozer writes that as we learn to pray, our prayer life can grow “from the initial most casual brush to the fullest, most intimate communion of which the human soul is capable.” And that’s what we really want—deep communication with God. It happens when we keep praying.
By: Poh Fang Chia
Questions:
1. Paul tells us to “Rejoice always,” (1 Thessalonians 5:16) and “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessa-lonians 5:18). How can we do this?
2. Why did Paul ask the Thessalonians to pray for him (1 Thessalonians 5:25)?
3. Let’s have quiet time to pray individually with God as a way of starting a persistent prayer life.
Prayer:
Dear Father, we often struggle to spend time with You. Help us to make the time, and help us sense Your goodness and presence. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
DAY09 Always Pray and Don’t Give Up
Today’s Bible Reading
Luke 18:1-8
Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. — — Luke 18:1
Are you going through one of those times when it seems every attempt to resolve a problem is met with a new difficulty? You thank the Lord at night that it’s taken care of but awake to find that something else has gone wrong and the problem remains.
During an experience like that, I was reading the gospel of Luke and was astounded by the opening words of chapter 18: “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (v. 1). I had read the story of the persistent widow many times but never grasped why Jesus told it (vv. 2-8). Now I connected those opening words with the story. The lesson to His followers was very clear: “Always pray and never give up.”
Prayer is not a means of coercing God to do what we want. It is a process of recognizing His power and plan for our lives. In prayer we yield our lives and circumstances to the Lord and trust Him to act in His time and in His way.
As we rely on God’s grace not only for the outcome of our requests but for the process as well, we can keep coming to the Lord in prayer, trusting His wisdom and care for us.
Our Lord’s encouragement to us is clear: Always pray and don’t give up!
By: David C. McCasland
Questions:
1. In what ways is the unjust judge in the parable similar and dissimilar to God (Luke 18: 2-8)?
2. How does the parable of the persistent widow encourage us to persevere in prayer (Luke 18: 6-8)?
3. What are some practical ways we can persevere in prayer?
Prayer:
Lord, in the difficulty I face today, may I always turn to You in prayer. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
DAY10 On Our Hearts
Today’s Bible Reading
Deuteronomy 6:1-9
These commandments . . . are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. — Deuteronomy 6:6–7
After a young boy faced some challenges in school, his dad began to teach him a pledge to recite each morning before school: “I thank God for waking me up today. I am going to school so I can learn . . . and be the leader that God has created me to be.” The pledge is one way the father hopes to help his son apply himself and deal with life’s inevitable challenges.
In a way, by helping his son to commit this pledge to memory, the father is doing something similar to what God commanded the Israelites in the desert: “These commandments . . . are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7).
After wandering in the wilderness for forty years, the next generation of Israelites was about to enter the Promised Land. God knew it wouldn’t be easy for them to succeed—unless they kept their focus on Him. And so, through Moses, He urged them to remember and be obedient to Him and to help their children to know and love God by talking about His Word “when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (v. 7).
Each new day, we too can commit to allowing Scripture to guide our hearts and minds as we live in gratitude to Him.
By: Alyson Kieda
Questions:
1. Why were the Israelites to obey God’s law (Deuteronomy 6:2-3)?
2. What can you learn about God from the verses you memorised (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)?
3. How can we hold God’s commandments in our hearts and make them a part of our daily lives (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)? ed.)
Prayer:
Dear God, thank You for giving me each new day. Help me to keep Your wisdom in my heart and on my mind. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.