The Impossible Journey

What an amazing night! I think the best part of it all was seeing all of you respond to the challenge to bring your friends out to hear about Jesus! What an amazing thing to know that we as Christians have access to the kind of living water that takes away the flaw of sin and we can live knowing that are right with God. Also, isn't it amazing that we get the opportunity to live out the life God has for us everyday and make his name famous in our schools, our homes, and our relationships. Check out the devotions for this week and let me know what you thought about our amazing journey last night.


The Impossible Journey: Devotions

Thursday October 11th
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8-9
It’s amazing to think about how my life used to be before I decided to accept what Christ did for me. Maybe you are like me and you have made some really poor decisions in your life. Maybe you feel that because of the “bad” things you have done that Christ could never love you enough to save you. That simply isn’t true. Christ died for even the ungodly-the ones who couldn’t care less about church, God, or anything to do with Him. I love the part of this verse that says that “while we (you and I) were still sinner, Christ died for us.” The Bible doesn’t say that we have to “clean up our act” before we come to Him, but Christ invites us to come as we are. He will then begin to work on us and take care of the rest!
How does it make you feel to know that no matter what you have done, Christ still loved you enough to die for you? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Do you struggle with the fact that your past is too bad and that you can’t possibly change? ________Remember, that Christ died for sinners, not perfect people. None of us are perfect. If you are serious about accepting Him and His love, write a prayer about what it is you need Christ to do in your life. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Friday October 12th
“No, in all these things we are more that conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39
If we will accept Christ, He has promised to help us overcome the things that have hurt us, destroyed us, and have left us feeling so empty. Whether those things are relationships, material things, or things that we have abused, God’s word says that we are more than conquerors! It doesn’t mean that we will never face challenging things or go through hard times, but He does say that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Jesus). This verse goes on to say that there is NOTHING that can separate us from the love of God. It doesn’t matter how many mistakes you have made in your past, God overlooks those things and chooses to love us, IF we are seeking Him consistently with all of our heart. I am not suggesting that we can just do whatever we want to because we know that Christ will forgive us anyway. The truth is, if we truly put God first in our lives, we are going to try with all of our heart to do the things that please Him. Yes, we might slip and fall sometimes, but if we come to God with a broken heart, are truly sorry for hurting Him and turn from our ways, He overlooks our mistakes, because His word says that there is NOTHING that can separate us from His love.
Is it hard for you to believe that Christ really loves you, in spite of all your mistakes? Explain your answer.
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Think about the fact that there is NOTHING that can separate you from the love of God. Write a prayer about what this means to you. You might want to write a prayer of thanks, a prayer of confessing your sins, etc. Just meditate on that very idea that NOTHING can separate you from the love of God.
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Monday October 16th
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!”
2 Corinthians 5:17
Did you know that when you become (became) a Christian that you become a new person? You make not look any different on the outside, but your heart is changed. When you become a Christian, you begin to see things differently. As you spend more time in God’s word and in prayer, you learn who Christ is and you become like Him! Therefore, as the verse says, “the old is gone”, the way you viewed things, old habits and sins no longer become a part of your life. Maybe your friendships change, your priorities change, and you even “feel” like a new person. It is the new creation that has come (Christ coming into your life) and your old self begins to disappear. Becoming a new creation simply means that you have decided to live your life in a way that pleases God, and you leave your past behind you.
If you are a Christian, describe in your own words how you have changed and become a new creation? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Maybe you are just checking things out and would say that you call yourself a Christian, but you really haven’t made that commitment to live every aspect of your life for Christ. If you decide to become a Christian, what are some things that you know represent your “old self” and how does it make you feel to know that Christ may ask you to leave these things behind? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Tuesday October 17th
“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” I Peter 1:14-15
I know. That sounds like a pretty hard statement to live out—“be holy in all you do.” And the truth is, it is impossible to be holy without Christ in our lives because He is what makes us holy. When Peter wrote this portion of scripture, he was referring to the “ignorant” as those who didn’t know about Christ. Obviously, if we are not Christians, we are ignorant to who God is, His word, and how He expects us to live our lives. But when we accept Christ and take on the identity as being a Christian, we are called to be holy. To be holy means to live a life that is pleasing to God, to love Him, to have respect for Him, and to honor Him in everything we do. How do we know how to please God, and love Him, and honor Him? By reading the Bible, spending time talking to God (prayer) and by being around others who have chosen to live holy lives (Christians). You see, when we were ignorant (when we weren’t Christians), we had a lot of evil desires—maybe jealousy, gossip, getting drunk, being disobedient, sex before marriage and the list goes on. Basically, evil desires are anything things that are unpleasing to God. But when God calls us to live for Him, we are called to be holy because He is holy. And only He can help us to be like Him.

What are some “evil desires” you struggle(d) with either before you became a Christian or maybe you are struggling with now? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why do you think the things you listed above are labeled as “evil desires”? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What does the statement “be holy in all you do” mean to you? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wednesday October 18th
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” Hebrews 12:1

Who are the “witnesses” that this verse is referring to? _______________________________________________________________________________
What are the things that hinder you and entangle you? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Write a prayer to God asking Him to help you “throw off” the things that hinder you from a relationship with Him, as well as, confess any sins that are entangling you. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________