Walking in Darkness?

Walking in Darkness?

READ: MATTHEW 5:14-16; PHILIPPIANS 2:15-16; 1 JOHN 1:5-7 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=MATTHEW%205%3A14-16%3B%20PHILIPPIANS%202%3A15-16%3B%201%20JOHN%201%3A5-7&version=NLT] Every night, after darkness falls, my sister and I don headlamps and head outside to close up our family’s chicken coop for the night. It’s a mundane daily task…but it turns out God loves speaking profound truth through our everyday routines. As we were going out one day, I pushed the button on my headlamp, and it didn’t work. I wasn’t shocked—batteries do die, after all—so I plugged it in. The next day, I put it back on my head, pressed the button, stepped outside, and suddenly…I could see. I saw things in vivid color, and things that were thirty feet away. I was shocked, because I hadn’t had a clue that my flashlight had grown dim—so dim as to be nearly useless. Why did the flashlight have to die for me to realize it had hardly been fulfilling its purpose? When I stepped back into the house and laid my headlamp in its place, it hit me—that light was exactly like we can be as Christians. We often start off bright—on fire for the Lord and feeling very close to Him. But, as time goes on, we may get distracted or discouraged. We may not notice His presence with us as much. Our light fades, and we don’t even notice the difference. It’s often not until I hit the very end of myself that I realize how weak my awareness of God has been. Why do we settle for dim lights when we could be walking in the fullness of what Jesus has for us? He is the light of the world, and He promises we don’t have to walk in darkness. Brothers and sisters, may we choose to pursue the abundant light of His loving presence rather than accepting a dim status quo. • Hannah Ruth Johnson • Jesus loves us so much that He came to give us light through His death and resurrection. Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we can know that He is always with us—both in our dim moments and our brightly-lit moments. But our awareness of Him and our enthusiasm toward the gospel may wax and wane throughout our lives. Can you remember a dim season in your life? What was that like? What brought you out of it? • What could you do this week to intentionally pursue Jesus and the light of His presence, remembering that He is already pursuing you? Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12 (NLT)

Never Alone

READ: JOSHUA 1:9; ISAIAH 41:10; JOHN 14:16-20; ROMANS 8:35-39 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=JOSHUA%201%3A9%3B%20ISAIAH%2041%3A10%3B%20JOHN%2014%3A16-20%3B%20ROMANS%208%3A35-39&version=NLT] “Bye!” I called to my parents. As they walked down the hall to leave, I ducked into the college dorm room where I would live for the next five days. At the end of seventh grade, I tried out for drum major of my middle school marching band. After our band director chose me for the position, I received a brochure in the mail. It advertised a weeklong summer band camp at a nearby university. I begged my parents for permission to go, and they agreed. Even though I would be the only student from my school at this camp, I didn’t feel nervous about being on my own. I knew I could count on having a roommate. But when I arrived, I discovered the roommate assigned to me hadn’t shown up. I’ll be alone all week! I thought. As I sat in the bare-walled room, I wondered, If the Lord made me brave enough to come to this camp by myself, would He really abandon me to get through it all alone? Later, I walked to the lobby, hoping to find another girl who needed a friend. Then I spotted somebody I knew—the drum major for the high school in my town. Laurie had coached me for my tryouts earlier that spring. She introduced me to some girls with her, and they became my band camp friends. I never ate one meal alone that week. God provided for me that summer. And this experience is one of the things that helped me learn that, if God loved me so much He would die and rise again so I could have life, I could trust Him to always meet my needs (Philippians 4:10-20). And if I hadn’t found those girls in the lobby that day? God still would have been with me. Because of Jesus, I am never alone (Matthew 28:20). •Allison Wilson Lee • Can you think of a time you felt alone, but then you realized God was providing for you? Did He bring you a friend—or did you simply rest in His presence? • Consider taking some time to reread today’s Scripture slowly. How could remembering that Jesus—God in human flesh—came to die in our place help us trust that He’ll meet all our needs? • Is there an area of your life where God might be inviting you to step out in courage, even if you don’t know how He is going to provide for you yet? Consider taking a moment to talk to Him about this. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” Hebrews 13:5 (NLT)

Small Asks

READ: PSALM 55:17; PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7; COLOSSIANS 4:2 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=PSALM%2055%3A17%3B%20PHILIPPIANS%204%3A6-7%3B%20COLOSSIANS%204%3A2&version=NIV] Have you ever chosen not to pray about something because it felt too small, too unimportant to talk to the God of the universe about? You’re not alone. We all have. Yet, the Bible tells us to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). What does that look like? Well, think about it this way. If I spend a day with my kids, I guarantee they will ask me for things continually. “Can you add this to the grocery list?” “Do you know where my phone is?” “Can you help with my homework?” Likewise, I will ask them for things too. “Can you pick that up for me?” “Would you let the dog out?” “Can you turn that video down?” And in a perfect world, neither of us is going to be annoyed by these requests. It’s simply the rhythm of doing life together. Plus, if we’re together constantly, we won’t only be asking for things. We’ll be filling in the gaps with conversation—sharing details of our lives, laughing, thanking each other, or talking through hard situations. In a similar way, we can spend our days in constant communication with God because, once we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we can know that He is with us all the time. So we can ask Him for help—when we can’t find our keys, when we’re trying to remember what we studied, or when we’re having trouble falling asleep. We can also practice listening for the things He will ask of us—to help someone, to give, to pray, or to turn down the volume on opinions and entertainment that aren’t healthy for us. The more we practice these “small asks,” the easier it will become to talk to God about anything and everything else. It will open the door for us to discover His sense of humor, to thank Him for all the small blessings He pours out on us, and to simply unburden our hearts to Him when life is heavy. As we do, we find that He is always there for us, always ready to show us His incredible love, mercy, and kindness. • Abigail Aswegen • What kinds of things do you tend to talk to God about the most? • What kinds of things would you like to talk to God about more often? Consider taking a moment just to tell Him whatever is on your mind right now. Pray continually. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV)

Christians R Us

READ: ROMANS 10:1-4; EPHESIANS 2:8-10; PHILIPPIANS 3:8-9; HEBREWS 9:14-15 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ROMANS%2010%3A1-4%3B%20EPHESIANS%202%3A8-10%3B%20PHILIPPIANS%203%3A8-9%3B%20HEBREWS%209%3A14-15&version=NIV] Imagine you’re in a superstore full of what the Bible calls “good works”—all the things you’ve been told you need to be as a Christian. Kind…helpful…loving…always willing to bring potato salad to the church potluck. You’ve been hearing how you need to be these things all your life—from your parents, teachers, pastors—so you decide it’s time to get on it. You’ve got some shopping to do. First, the grocery section. The Christian life displays the fruit of the Spirit— patience, kindness, self-control, and all the rest. Easy peasy, they’re all right there—and since they’re always in season, they’re also on sale! You throw them in the cart. (Better toss some stuff to make potato salad in there too while you’re at it.) Next, home improvement. A welcoming attitude and encouraging words that build people up. A loving heart that’s not prone to anger but instead responds with a soft, gentle answer (even in conversations with that family member). Oh, and a cute wooden plaque with a verse on it to hang inside your front door. Score! Last stop—apparel. The Bible says to clothe ourselves with humility and compassion. And a pair of apostle-like strappy sandals adds a nice touch! Your cart is overflowing with goodness, so it’s time to hit the checkout lane. You scan your items, and the payment amount flashes across the screen. You swipe your card. Denied. You try your card again, but the payment won’t go through. You glance at the people in line behind you, then turn back to the screen. That’s when you see a sign in big red letters: Only payment cards registered to Jesus Christ accepted. You look down at your payment card, your face growing hot. It has your name on it. Not His. An attendant appears out of nowhere and whisks your items from their bags. You look longingly at all that goodness as it’s piled onto a restocking cart. Then you try to avoid the stares boring into you as you walk to the door empty-handed. • Courtney Lasater • Today’s story is an allegory. Can you think of a time you tried to be a “good Christian” all on your own? What kinds of things did you try to do? How long did that last? • In what situations do you tend to be more concerned about others seeing you as a Christian than about actually having a relationship with Jesus? We all fall into this trap from time to time, and Jesus knows it! Thankfully, He invites us to come to Him with all our messy sin and be reminded of His great love. It’s only because He died and rose again for us that we can be forgiven and brought near to God. Consider taking a moment to confess any sins that come to mind and rest in His grace. • We can try to do good in our own power, and sometimes we’ll succeed in looking good to ourselves and others. Yet the Bible tells us that even our best good works fall immeasurably short of His true goodness. In John 15:5, Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” The truth is, what Jesus wants most is relationship with us. And He knows that when we experience His love for us, that love overflows from us to others, and this brings Him joy! In your own life, what might it look like to pursue relationship with Jesus first and foremost? Who are trusted Christians you can talk to about this, maybe even asking them how this looks in their lives? • If you want to dig deeper, read Isaiah 64:6; John 15:1-17; Romans 3:12, 23-24; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 2:16.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8 (NIV)

The God Who Cries

READ: JOHN 11:1-45 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=JOHN%2011%3A1-45&version=NIV] John 11:35 is famous for being the shortest verse in the Bible: “Jesus wept.” We can so easily overlook just how powerful those two words are! Throughout our lives, we all face times when we don’t understand. Times when sorrow crushes us, and injustice seems to reign. Times when we ask, “Why, God?” and maybe wonder if He’s even there. Mary and Martha were asking those same questions as they mourned the death of their brother Lazarus. They wept and wailed, and both sisters recognized that if Jesus had only been there, He could have saved their brother. But He hadn’t been there. Jesus knew the reason. He knew the end of the story too—He knew that Lazarus wouldn’t stay in that grave. In verse 11, as Jesus and His disciples set out for Bethany, He foretold that Lazarus would come back to life. And He knew that Lazarus’s resurrection was a foreshadowing of His own death and resurrection— and the resurrection of all His people when He returns. But still, even seeing the big picture, He felt Mary and Martha’s grief—and His own. He wept. We have a God who loves us. He is all-knowing and all-powerful, and even as He sees the good purposes He has for the pain in our lives, He has empathy for us. Even though Jesus knows that He will return to right every wrong and put an end to death, His heart breaks with our hearts. He works all things for our good, but He doesn’t merely look on as we mourn. Jesus didn’t chuckle to Himself knowing their grief was in vain. He came alongside them and wept. What a gift to know that our God feels our pain with us while offering hope and light in the darkness! • Hannah Ruth Johnson • Why do you think Jesus wept, even though He knew Lazarus would come back to life? • Can you think of a time you felt God’s presence and comfort in the midst of grief? What was that like? Consider taking a moment to bring Him any grief you’re feeling today, and imagine Jesus sitting next to you, weeping. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 (NIV)