10 Days of Life January 21-30 Devotional Guide Hello Grace Church! I am excited about these next 10 days and I wanted to take a moment to share with you the vision for this time of prayer and fasting. The bible tells us in John 10:10 that Jesus came to the earth that we “may have life” and that we “may have it more abundantly.” That is what 10 Days of Life is all about, seeing God move us above and beyond our current point in life… letting God take us to new depths in our walk with Him that will allow us to experience life more abundantly. It is about God leading us in direction for 2013 that will give us new freedoms and victories in our personal lives as well as our life as a church body. We understand that for this to happen, we have to make room in our busy lifestyles for God to speak to us. That is the significance of this time of prayer and fasting. We are creating a time of focus to seek the Lord and let Him lead us to a fresh place of abundance. As you walk through each of the 10 days, I encourage you to visit www.graceweb.tv/life13 to watch a short devotional video specific to each day. I have asked ten of my personal friends to share a message of LIFE to encourage us through this time. As you watch the videos, use the supplemental notes in this devotional guide that go along with each message and take personal notes as God speaks to you. I am looking forward to a great 2013 as we move forward in the abundance of LIFE that God is bringing to us at Grace Church. It is going to be a great year! Love you, Day 1 Life in God’s joy Pastor Kevin Hardcastle “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” – Galatians 5:22-23 Joy is the ability to live in God’s presence. Happiness or Joy? • Happiness is conditional. It’s dependent upon what’s “happening” to me or my circumstances • JOY on the other hand is not conditional. It is described throughout the Bible as a quality of life that transcends the events and disasters which hinder us (circumstances). Three Joy Killers 1) Unfilled Expectations “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” – Philippians 4:12 2) Unresolved Conflicts “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” – Hebrews 12:14-15 “Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” – Philippians 2:2 2 3) Unconfessed Sin This one is responsible for killing more joy than any of the others mentioned. “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’ -- and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” – Psalm 32:1-5 “Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” – Psalm 32:11 God is the source of our joy! Life Application: • Do you have some unfulfilled expectations that have led to a spirit of discontentment? If so, determine to do whatever it takes to learn the secret of wanting everything you have and not necessarily having everything you want. When you do, you’ll begin to experience joy in even the small things of life. Confess your discontentment to Him. • Are you involved in some unresolved conflict with someone? If so, confess it to God and ask Him to lead you on how you are to proceed. Possibly make plans to meet with that person face-to- face so that you can be reconciled and get back your joy. • Is God’s hand heavy upon you right now because of some unconfessed sin that you’ve not confessed and repented of? Don’t keep silent any longer – it will only chew up your joy. Acknowledge your transgression and taste the joy that was once yours. Then you’ll be truly glad and rejoice in the Lord again. 3 Day 2 Speak life Pastor Brent KelloGG Is it just me, or are Americans just becoming a grumpy people? It seems every restaurant I go to someone needs to see the manager to voice their complaints. Every flight I’m on, there is someone that “nothing seems to be good enough.” Critical spirits and grumpy seem to be the new norm in America today. But I have something different. Nehemiah tells me the Joy of the Lord is my Strength. Several years back my wife Jeri and I went through some pretty tough stuff. Through the process of the trials we began to see some things in ourselves we didn’t like. I’m not sure exactly when it was, but we as a family made the decisions to “Speak Life.” We ask ourselves this constant question, “Are the people around us better because of what we have said to them?” Do people want to be around us because we encourage them and speak life to them? Are people better after they have been with us? Paul challenged us in 1 Thessalonians 5:11, “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” Proverbs 18:21 tells us “death and life are in the power of the tongue…” and I know people who take that verse to an extreme. It is not my place to form your theology on how far you want to take the impact of this passage of scripture, but I do believe we are to “Speak Life” into the people around us. In my life, I am VERY well aware of my flaws. They haunt me daily. I don’t need people reminding me. No one enjoys being torn down. No one enjoys being criticized. What we all need are positive voices in our lives “encouraging us up and building us up.” We need people who speak life into us. 4 I want to be clear… I’m not suggesting we be all love and fluff. Sometimes we need to love people enough to say hard things that in the end will make them better. But say them because you love them and want to make them better, not because a random thought just flew out of your mouth. We all need someone who loves us enough to tell us we have a big streak of mustard on our face when eating a good hamburger. We all need someone to love us enough to tell us we have something in our teeth. We all need someone to love us enough to tell us when we’ve acted unkind, or in a harsh way. When we are compelled by the Holy Spirit to speak to someone about the stains in their lives we need to be sure of the following things: 1. You feel the Holy Spirit compelling you to do so. (Pray about it.) 2. You have the relationship with the person so that they will receive it. If they don’t know you well enough to know how much you love them, anything you say will just be written off as criticism. 3. You speak life. Communicate to them that you are saying this because you love them and want to see them fulfill the destiny God has for them. I want to encourage you during these “10 Days of Life” to choose to speak life in 2013. Constantly ask yourself these questions… “Are people better off because they have been in my presence?” Am I doing what scripture challenges me to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:11, encouraging and building up other people? If this is so, when you have to do the “tough stuff” it will be well received. Be a life giver today! 5 Day 3 One Thing Pastor Mike davis “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” – Luke 10:41-42 It’s our daily, personal intimacy with Him that determines how well we live. It reminds us that life in God is wonderfully simple. Only one thing is absolutely necessary: fellowshipping with the Master. Everything else we need to do will come from our time with Him. Advantages of spending time at His feet: 1. A real connection with Christ-He speaks and we get it, that’s refreshing. 2. A Reply to the distracting invitations-less worry and more joy. 3. Running in the right direction toward everything God has for us.