SUM 11: Day 28

Matthew 6:33

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously and He will give you everything you need. (NLT) This verse is just one verse from Jesus’ amazing Sermon on the Mount teaching. In the versus preceding this one, Jesus teaches that we should not worry about money and possessions because He promises to supply all our needs. In the midst of His teaching, Jesus challenged His listeners with the question, “Why do you have so little faith?”

We are not all that different than Jesus’ first century audience. It is easy to find
our faith slipping, but notice what Jesus says in verse 33. He gives us two direct
imperatives: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else” and “Live righteously.” Before you move on, reflect on what Jesus is saying in these two imperatives. Ask yourself the following questions during your reflection:

What does it mean to “seek the Kingdom of God above all else”?
Do you think there is any significance in the order of these imperatives?

The challenge of today’s devotion is to avoid compartmentalizing our faith. In other words, our faith needs to be who we are, not just part of who we are. Stop for a minute and reflect on that statement; there is a big difference between the two descriptions.

Jesus gave us the formula for making our faith who we are. Jesus told us to seek the Kingdom of God above everything else; then He commanded we live righteously. We stand a chance to do just that if we focus on putting Jesus above everything else!
Can you see the transformation formula? If our faith is to become who we are rather than just part of who we are, our priorities must always be on the Kingdom of Jesus.

Pray: Are you trusting God in every area of your life? Pray today that you will allow God to be in charge and that you will seek Him first.

Do: Take some time to think about the things you are seeking. What are your priorities? Are you seeking Christ first and allowing Him to be the center of all you do?

SUM 11: Day 27

1 John 1:5-7

Getting rid of the compartments in our lives means letting the Light of God shine on the dark places and being real no matter who we are with or where we are.

Compartments. What comes to mind when you think of compartments? For me, compartments mean organization. The first thing that comes to mind is a child’s plate. Remember how, when you were little, you had those plates with three different compartments for each type of food? Your mom put your PB&J in one spot, your Mac-n-Cheese in another spot and your apples in another. Each food was separated in it’s own spot. You did your best to keep your food from crossing over into the other compartment because, if one spot was invaded, all the food was tainted, untouchable and disgusting! Bring back memories?

So it can be with our lives. We lay out our lives like a divided plate. We have our school life in one spot, our church life in another spot and our family life in another. Most of our effort at school is spent keeping our church life and family life hidden so we don’t look weird or stick out. We spend our effort at church hiding the things we do at school and at home so we appear to have it all together and no one will know that we lie to our parents or party with our friends. We spend our energy at home keeping it all hidden from our parents, because what do they know, right?

God calls us to get rid of the compartments. To throw out the divided plate that we like to call “organization” and be real. Be real at home. Be real at church. Be real at school. In 1 John 1:5-7, we read, “God is light; in Him there is no darkness.” When we live with a divided life, we convince ourselves certain things are hidden, and no one will ever know. But what does light do to darkness? It exposes it. When we allow the Light of God to shine on our lives, the dark compartments we try to hide are exposed. He calls us to live a life without division. To be the same in school, at church and at home. Is your life a divided plate?

Pray: Pray that God will show you the divisions in your life and that He will shine His light to expose the darkness. Pray that you can be real and consistent no matter who you are with or where you are.

Do: Make a list of the different parts of your life (i.e. sports, school, family, church, work) and think of ways to live out your faith in each of these places.

SUM 11: Service and Notes: Day 26

God wants to be in charge of every area of our lives, not just a few parts.

What is compartmentalized faith?

Make a list of the different areas, or “compartments,” of your life.
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The story of Samson - Judges chapters 13, 14 and 16

“The sacredness or worldly status of a task matters less than the motivation behind it.” – Brother Lawrence

Worship is about doing everything for the glory of God. It is not meant to be something that is confined to church!

Question: Are you living a compartmentalized life? Or are you allowing God to be in charge of everything?

Thoughts from Discussion:
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Do: Remember the list you made earlier? Get your list out and evaluate these areas.

Challenge: Are you allowing God to be the center of these things? If not, will you let Him be in charge of these areas?