Daily Reading Week 45

Monday Oct. 7

Mark 14

Discover:

  • What verse did you connect with today?

  • What does the broken bread represent? What does the cup of wine represent? Why is communion important to our worship routines?

  • What did Jesus do before a big event? What is your prayer routine when trouble is coming? 

  • Who is Jesus to you?

Respond:

  • At the beginning of the chapter - a woman comes into the home of Simon and pours an alabaster jar of expensive perfume onto the head of Jesus. Expensive may be an understatement, it was equivalent to a year of wages! Many of us when we read that recoil at the thought of giving something of that significance, yet that is what Jesus calls us to do. We are called to give God our very best to honor him and worship him as Savior of the world. When we do that, people may ask: Why would you give so much? And the truthful answer is when we believe Jesus is Lord, Why wouldn’t we give so much?

Tuesday nov 8

2 Samual 15

Discover:

  • Absalom was unhappy with his role and undermined David’s leadership. What are ways he did so? 

  • Why is disunity hurtful for everyone involved? 

  • How would you have responded if you were David?

Respond:

  • Ittai has a great response to the challenges of life. “I vow by the LORD and by your own life that I will go wherever my lord the king goes, no matter what happens - whether it means life or death.” For many of us, when we get into an area of trouble we like to choose the easy way out. The easy way out is not always the right way out. Ittai recognized who God had anointed and was going to follow him to the end. We can’t give up on God when things get hard, it’s the right life and ultimately like David in this situation, He is the victor in every situation. 

Wednesday nov 9

Romans 8

Discover:

  • What did Jesus’ death give us? Romans 8:1-4

  • How do you fight temptation? What’s the greatest tool that we have? 

  • What are we heirs of? 

  • When life gets hard, the Holy Spirit “advocates” for us. How do you see that play out in v. 18-30?

Respond:

  • Romans 8:38-39 is a beautiful reminder that we can be conquerors over every situation. I urge you to remember this section of scripture and repeat it when you come across a challenging situation this week. 

  • Memorize verse 39 before the end of the day.

Thursday nov. 10

Colossians 1

Discover:

  • What verse did you connect with today?

  • What is the advantage of having knowledge of God’s will and spiritual wisdom as it is stated in v. 10?

  • Out of all the descriptions of Christ in verse 15-20? Which one impacted you the most? Which do you not think about enough? 

  • God makes peace with those who were once far away from God, his enemies, those who were separated. Who is someone in your life that is far away from God and needs to know who he is? 

Respond:

  • Do you have a group of people that prays for you like Paul does for the Church of Colossae in verse 3? If so - take time today and thank them for what they are doing. If not - I urge you to get on  a team and find what matters with others. This could be a serving team or small group team. Get off your donkey and join the people of the church! 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book Life Together once said, “The more genuine and the deeper our community becomes, the more will everything else between us recede, the more clearly and purely will Jesus Christ and his work become the one and only thing that is vital between us.”

friday nov. 11

1 Peter 2

Discover:

  • We stumble when we do not obey God’s word. When is a time in your life that you fell to this trap? 

  • In a world that feels exclusive we are chosen by God. What’s the result of that? V.9

  • Why do you think it’s important to respect those that are in authority? V.13-14. How do we create a culture of that? 

  • What is the example that we should follow if we want to do good? V. 21-25

Respond:

  • The Resource Got Questions describes the cornerstone this way, “Since ancient times, builders have used cornerstones in their construction projects. A cornerstone was the principal stone, usually placed at the corner of an edifice, to guide the workers in their course. The cornerstone was usually one of the largest, the most solid, and the most carefully constructed of any in the edifice. The Bible describes Jesus as the cornerstone that His church would be built upon. He is foundational. Once the cornerstone was set, it became the basis for determining every measurement in the remaining construction; everything was aligned to it. As the cornerstone of the building of the church, Jesus is our standard of measure and alignment.”

  • How can you create a habit of making sure Jesus is your standard of measurement and alignment?

saturday nov. 12

1 Peter 3

Discover:

  • What verse did you connect with today?

  • What does a biblical marriage look like based on this section of scripture? 

  • How can we apply that to other relationships in our lives?

  • Peter gives us a great standard of how to have relationships in verse 8-12, which one do you need to work on? 

  • Why do you think we suffer for doing good? 

Respond:

  • Verse 15 is an incredible verse that challenges us to be ready to evangelize and share the good news of Christ at any moment. Most people feel unequipped to be able to do so. So what you have to do is have your tool belt on. There are three simple tools that you can use today. 

  • 1. Your testimony - Simply tell them how God has changed your life!

  • 2. Your attitude - By being different than others, people will naturally want to be in conversation with you which leads to the chance to walk through scripture! 

  • 3. Your God - If you have the Holy Spirit, then you have everything you need to share the Gospel with others.

sunday nov. 13

Luke 10

Discover:

  • What verse did you connect with? 

  • How can you sacrifice your time this week?

  • How can you sacrifice your gifts this week?

  • How can you take a step in your giving this week?

Respond:

  • Where do you feel like God is calling you to get off your donkey this week?