Daily Devotional

Proverbs 22:6

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

What is radical investment in the next generation? Should we "try to take kids to church more"?  "Pray before dinner"?  Or "volunteer to babysit kids at church"?  Are those things radical?

For perspective let's describe what radical looks like in a physician. The one we want to care for our loved one who has a life threatening illness. Should they "try to take continuing education courses," or "make a half-hearted appearance at the office visit?" We obviously expect much more. We expect someone who thoroughly, completely... radically invests in the effort to save lives.

That is the type of investment you can make in the next generation. Be encouraged by these real life stories I have witnessed here at Southland.

1. I've seen Children's leaders who faithfully serve at church every weekend and love, listen, teach, guide, celebrate, and equip children to follow Jesus. These leaders are not babysitting!
2. I have witnessed moms of severely ill children who not only manage everyday life in addition to doctor visits and treatments, but also regularly attend church and bring their children along while they love and serve other hurting families.
3. I have witnessed many 20-something adults who go to school or work full-time spending their free time tutoring, hanging out with, and/or loving underprivileged kids.
4. I have witnessed 3rd-5th grade kids send letters to children in Mozambique and delivered correspondence back to them that not only thanks them by name, but answers specific questions asked in previous letters.
5. I have witnessed elementary age kids come to know Jesus and have their Life Group Leader baptize them.

Now that is radically investing in the next generation! How will your investment yield a student who follows Jesus daily?

Scripture memory verse for Expression 3: Titus 2:7-8 (NASB)

In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. 

For more information, contact Jason.

John 1:14

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

I doubt you’ll meet many people who work out with the intensity that I do. I don’t mean to brag, but when I exercise, I go all out. I’m talking about a good two hour work-out: full cardio, weights, the whole nine yards. I’ll be honest. It’s impressive.  Unfortunately, it’s only about once every two months. Sporadic exercise doesn’t have nearly the impact on my fitness you might think it would. On the plus side, I feel great about myself for a couple of hours. On the downside, it doesn’t really do me any good.

What I need is daily discipline. Better to do a little faithfully than to do nothing at all. I see the same principle at work in Children’s Ministry. Children’s Ministry isn’t just about serving on weekends at the church. It’s having a daily mindset that you will show Jesus to any child God brings your way. One of the ways we express our love for God at Southland is by our commitment to radically investing our lives in the next generation. In other words, we show our faith by passing it on to the next generation of children following us. 

What does this radical investment look like? It looks like hundreds of Southland leaders who give an hour or two of their time each weekend to serve as Life Group leaders and show Jesus' love to kids here at church. It looks like other volunteers who go to neighborhoods most people avoid - just to hang out with children who need to know they matter to God. For still others it may mean shooting basketball with a neighbor kid who needs a good influence or welcoming your own children’s friends into your home with open arms.

In John 1:14 the Message says, “The word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.” As the church, you are the flesh and blood bringing God’s word into a kid’s life. Who are the children God has brought your way to influence, and what are the daily things you can do to make Jesus real for them? Maybe a simple, steady investment in their lives is the most radical thing you can do to pass on the baton of faith.

• Volunteer in the Nursery, Pre-School, Children’s or Student Ministries
• Find a way to encourage children in your neighborhood
• Spend time listening to a child tell you a story

Scripture memory verse for Expression 3: Titus 2:7-8 (NASB)

In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. 

For more information, contact Nate.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9

Always remember these commands I give you today. Teach them to your children, and talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them down and tie them to your hands as a sign. Tie them on your forehead to remind you, and write them on your doors and gates.

What does it mean to radically invest in the next generation? This is the challenge from Jon as part of our DNA of a Dangerous Church series. How could we all give, perhaps more than we currently do, to ensure the next generation knows Jesus and follows Him with their lives?

A long time ago the leader of a nation who worshiped the God we worship gave a command to that nation. He said, Listen, people of Israel! The LORD our God is the only LORD. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. Always remember these commands I give you today. Teach them to your children, and talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them down and tie them to your hands as a sign. Tie them on your forehead to remind you, and write them on your doors and gates.

In Deuteronomy 6 Moses made it a point to give specific details for how God’s people could ensure the faith of the next generation. These “investment strategies” were commanded because Moses believed that the stakes were high. At Southland we believe the stakes are just as high today as they were then. Here are some specific ways you can invest in the next generation:

• Consider sponsoring a Southland student to attend a retreat or church outing they cannot afford to attend.
• Pray every day this week for the elementary, middle or high school closest to your home.
• Write a note to a kid you know encouraging them in their faith – maybe include a fun gift card!
• Close your eyes right now and ask God to give you a tangible idea to pursue in the next few days...then do it!

Scripture memory verse for Expression 3:  Titus 2:7-8 (NASB)

In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. 

For more information, contact Nate.

 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, CEB

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

The family that prays together, stays together, is an expression I’ve heard and believe to be true. The challenge which accompanies our expression of sacrificially serving our families is for “100% of spouses and families at Southland will pray together daily.” That’s a big goal, and, once it’s achieved, it’s going to result in some big-time power from the Lord.

Prayer within families is the glue that keeps a family unit stuck together.  When a family prays to the Lord Jesus Christ, the family has supernatural strength – even though they may be shaken at times - and they will ultimately overcome all obstacles which come against them. This challenge, fulfilled, is exactly what we need for our immediate families and for our church family.

To have a true sense of belonging - to sacrifice daily, serve in a Spirit of worship and gladness, love our families in all the right ways – we need to pray.   We need supernatural wisdom from the Lord and not from ourselves.   Left alone, we will always get this expression of sacrificially serving our families wrong.   With the supernatural wisdom God provides as we ask and hear through prayer, we set ourselves on a path toward success.

Doesn’t it feel good to know that God has not left us alone to follow His commandments? He, being a perfect heavenly Father, allows us to consult with Him in prayer to discern how to practice His will with one another.

• How do you practice the spiritual discipline of prayer?
• What is one thing you can pray for your family right now? Pray it.

For more information, contact Adaryll.

John 13:34-35, NLT

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

"All of the people around us to say, can we be that close?
Just let me state for the record, we're giving love in a family dose, yeah!"
We are Family, The Pointer Sisters

The Bible helps us understand the family is a very important part of human living. If we believe this is true, we must nurture, protect, guide and provide for the family. The physical family is to be cared for, and we also take time to remember the family that is with us in Christ Jesus. How many people in your church – people who call upon the name of Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives - are single, have toxic families, or simply feel alone?

The time to get after the business of loving family members is right now.  None of us is guaranteed even one more moment of life, so we should make the best use of the moment we have right now.   What are we to do when we come together with family? What’s the agenda? Try love. Love really works. It worked for God with us, and it works when we do so selflessly for one another. Love your family. It's easy to say, sometimes difficult to obey, but it's a commandment from Scripture that helps those outside the faith say, “I want that! What is it?”  It’s love.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at a challenge to help us sacrificially serve our families.

• Is there a way for you to show love to members of your family today? Do it.

For more information, contact Adaryll.

Psalm 100:2, ESV

Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

A pastor once used a phrase which has stuck with me: “win at home.”  We are to serve faithfully at our workplaces, but also serve in a way that honors our families.

Serve.  This word usually creates an emotion.   A famous pastor, Charles Spurgeon once said, “Serve the Lord with gladness,” is a delightful sonnet to the spiritual mind, but to the ungodly, the careless, the unspiritual, it is flat and dull—the grinding of labor’s wheel—and far other than a verse from a cherub’s harp.  There are three types of service that seem to be out-of-tune with today’s scripture.   Spurgeon describes some as having a problem with the idea of serving altogether.  Others have a misplaced sense of service, making the idea of serving more of a chore than something done with gladness.   This passage suggests God is not impressed with our ability to serve, rather our doing so with a happy heart.  Gladness is a sign that our obedience – in serving – is performed as an act of worship to God for all He has done. Our hearts are full of thankfulness and overflow with serving because we have been so graciously served.  A final type of service which misses the mark is that which serves the church building and its interests more than our immediate family and friends. God is not impressed by the hours you serve at a church if it causes your immediate Christ-centered family to fracture. He wants us to “win at home” first.

• How does the word “serve” apply to you and your life’s actions and attitudes?

For more information, contact Adaryll.

Romans 12:1-2, NIV1984

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. 

Have you ever had someone love you so much or loved someone so much that a head-shake is given to the silly things they do? You know what I’m talking about?   Shake-my-head love.  When a friend or loved one does something unwise and, instead of dismissing them from relationship, you or they just shake the head and perhaps give a proverbial Bless their heart?

Sacrifice is the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable, for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim.  When it comes to our families, we are designed to surrender ourselves, or destroy our own wants and needs for those of someone else.   In scripture, the phrase living sacrifice is used to help us understand the sacrifice is not a one-time thing.   Unlike an animal, we are not sacrificed once-and-for-all.  Instead, we live.  We live to sacrifice ourselves again and again.  This is great love.   This is the kind of love God showed us by sending His Son to live on earth, be crucified, die, and be resurrected for us.   This is wondrous love.   He considered us greater than Himself and expects us to live sacrificially and consider others better than ourselves.  Even in those shake-our-head, bless-their-heart moments.

Each of us has the opportunity to obediently show this sort of sacrificial love to our family members – biologically, and within the household of faith.

• When was the last time you showed, without expectation of reward, sacrificial love for family?
• How might you show sacrificial love for family – biologically and inside the household of faith – today?

For more information, contact Adaryll.
 

Ephesians 2:19b

You are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s own country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian.

The second expression of our mission at Southland Christian Church reads, “We sacrificially serve our families.” Over the next four days, we will look at this expression and dissect it to better understand its meaning.

What does we or our mean within a biological family and within a family of faith?  You are not alone!  The words we and our raise up a sense of ownership, as if something belongs to us.   Indeed something does: it is the privilege of being connected to something or someone else in this universe.   We are all connected to someone biologically and we have the opportunity to belong to God’s family.   People who turn from their sin and turn to God, accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for their forgiveness, are one of the family; servants and children in God's house. There are many people on planet Earth who are part of your family.

My career path has led me to live away from my biological family for almost as many years as I lived with or near them. It is not always easy to be far from family.  What I soon came to realize is that my wife, children and I have been given more family than we can imagine.  We continue to experience the marvelous sense of family that is realized when we are connected to a Biblical community of faith.   When we find and befriend Bible-believing, prayerful, Holy-Spirit-filled Christ-followers, we are not alone.

Though we are uniquely designed by our creator individually, we bring our differences together into community.  We are not alone.  We are a part of a great family.

• How do you believe your individual design might be beneficial to the body of faith?
• Have you reached out to strengthen relationships in your biological family? Make relationships in the church family?

For more information, contact Adaryll.

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV 

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

1 Corinthians 15:9-10 NIV

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

The concept of relentlessly pursuing could lead us down a path where God never intended us to tread. A path called overexertion and burnout.  Rest creates the opportunity for us to be stronger than we would be if we never stopped running.

Transformation is the reworking of our hearts and minds.  We look different than we did before, much like an athlete looks different physically after a season of intense training.  There is a balance between dependence and work ethic that exists between us and God, much as it exists between an athlete and a trainer.  We are dependent on God to know what to do to get stronger, but we are the only ones who can do the actual working of our muscles.  Just like Paul wrote in today’s Scripture reading, No, I worked harder than all of them – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10b).

Just as muscles have to rest in order to rebuild and become stronger, we must rest at times in our pursuit of God.  We must rest in the truths we gain along the way so that they stick and so that we can grow.  Just as muscles can be strained without time to rebuild, our lives can become strained if we exert our own strength and forget to simply rest in what we know to be true about God’s love for us.  So take a water break from time to time as you relentlessly pursue God.  Enjoy Him and recover in order to be strengthened to run the next leg of the race He calls you to.

• What does rest look like for you?
• Are you in a season of intense training or in a season of resting in what you learned in the last leg of the race?
• Prayer:  God, there is no trainer stronger, smarter, or more encouraging than you. Thank you that our call to follow you is also a call to rest in you. You are our strength – the only strength that counts. Amen.

For more information, contact Amanda.

Proverbs 19:21 NIV

Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.

Isaiah 30:21 NIV

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

“Do you know where we’re going?”  How many times have you been asked this question when you’re in a car travelling to a new place?  For many of us, beginning to relentlessly pursue a transforming relationship with God requires us to move toward some uncharted territory and we are unsure which way to go.

A friend of mine compared pursuing a transforming relationship with God to following a GPS because he said following God requires some of the same things following a GPS requires. First, you have to know where you’re going, enter that into the system, listen well, do what you’re told and trust that you will get where you want to go. Spiritually, the process looks similar. We have to know where we’re going: into deeper relationship with God. We have to enter that into the system by doing the work of training and discipleship. Then, and maybe most importantly, we have to listen well, do what we’re told – also known as obedience – and trust that we will get where we want to go.

Proverbs 19:21 says, Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.  We experience this with GPS systems when we try to go in a different direction than the woman with the lovely British accent is telling us to go.  If we take control, we may never get to where we want to go. Listening well and obeying will ultimately get us to the destination of being in a transformational relationship with God.

• We all have plans and ideas about where we want our lives to go. How many of these do feel you have surrendered to God?
• Prayer: God, help us to trust you, to follow your voice, and to arrive at the kind of relationship you desire us to have with you. Amen.

For more information, contact Amanda.

Hebrews 5:11-14 NIV

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

The Expression for this week says that as a church we will be people who, Relentlessly Pursue a Transforming Relationship with God. Notice the distinction implied in the wording between simply pursuing a relationship and pursuing a transforming relationship. When I asked a friend what this meant to her, she shared the following:

“By simple definition I think [transformational relationship means] submitting to a spiritual maturing process so that a healthy relationship can develop.  The picture in my mind is not unlike a child/parent relationship and the phases it goes through over time.  Infants have little capacity for relationship and are completely dependent.  Young children are in intensive character training, teenagers put their training to the test.  As independent young adults the training really takes root and the appreciation of its value becomes evident to us.   With time and age we fully embrace character and characteristics instilled in us by our parents (obviously this metaphor only applies to healthy families) and there is a leveling in our relationship.   I believe it is the same with the Lord.  If you pursue the Lord and submit to His process and plan for developing your character you will find that your heart will become more like His.  It's the transformation that leads to the relationship. It can't really happen without it.”

It’s the transformation that leads to the relationship.  Our God is so gracious. He uses the process of us chasing hard after Him to transform us, thus giving us the type of relationship He wants us to have with Him. It’s like a two-for-one deal!

• If you had to assign yourself a spiritual maturing age based on my friend’s quote above, how old would you be?
• Prayer:  God, you never ask us to do anything you will not help us do. We are transformed simply by pursuing you. Thank you, God! Amen.

For more information, contact Amanda.

Acts 20:24

But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

Like many of us a few weeks ago, I succumbed to the overwhelming “need” to explore almost everything about Tim Tebow online. The YouTube videos which most intrigued me were clips showing his training schedule in order to prepare for the NFL draft:.  7am to 7pm everyday.  Ice baths, hot baths, strenuous workouts followed by an hour of rest paired with a diet composed of just the right caloric intake he would need for the training.  His rigorous work ethic made it clear he had his mind set on what he wanted to achieve.

What we often miss as followers of God is the process of training.  In God’s kingdom this training is called discipleship.  Our training involves different components than the world’s... thank goodness because that ice-bath looked miserable.  Still, it involves effort, commitment and time just like any other pursuit.

A friend of mine sent me a definition of relentless: without letting up, without losing sight of, without distraction, with a single focus – abandoned to a single purpose.

My favorite part of the definition of relentless above is the phrase, abandoned to a single purpose.  Our single purpose is clear: To know God.  A great way to know God is to study Him.  We do this through His Word. All the parameters of the race and of what we are to do in order to run well are outlined in the pages of Scripture.

• How well acquainted with the training guide, the Bible, do you feel?
• Prayer:  God, we know you want us to know you. Equip us with your word and help us to understand it through the Holy Spirit. Amen.

For more information, contact Amanda.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

I am not a runner.  I ran for a season once.  It was fun.  But then things started to hurt when I ran, after I ran, and by the end of it, they hurt when I thought about running.  So, I do not run anymore.  I walk, or as my husband likes to tease, I power walk.  Please forgo all images of me with a sweatband on my head and ankle weights.  

When we choose to give our lives to the Lord, we are agreeing to relentlessly pursue Him. We are agreeing to run and finish a race. More than that, we are agreeing to finish the race strong. To follow God, at least in certain seasons, you have to be a runner.

The unpacking of our Expressions as a church in this current series can serve as sort of a training guide to running the next portion of the race God has laid out for us as a church.
Our passage today describes the type of runner it takes to enter the course of a dangerous church – a church that actually makes a dent in the kingdom of God.

God is challenging us to train for the race He’s called us to. That’s what we’ll unpack together this week. Here are a couple of questions to prepare your heart.

• Do you want to enter this race?
• Do you want to be a part of a dangerous church?
• Prayer:  God, we know that you would never ask us to a run a course that you will not make a way for and that you will not run with us. We are grateful for that today. Amen.

For more information, contact Amanda.

Galatians 5:6, NLT

For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus....What is important is faith expressing itself in love.

I used to have a dog who was nuts. We called him Tosh. Tosh had to stay in the fenced in part of our yard or on a leash anytime he was outside. If you weren’t fast enough at closing the gate, he’d fly past you like he was on fire, running crazy through the neighborhood. If the leash was not clasped right, he’d jerk his neck, explode out of your grasp and get the attention of our community with barking and insane running. People in our neighborhood knew when Tosh was unleashed. He could not be contained!

At Southland, our mission is to “unleash a revolution of love.” It’s time for us to fly out of the gate, explode off of our leash, and get the attention of our community. It’s time to unleash a revolution of love so big that it changes our community. A revolution means change. It turns things around, never to be the same again. It’s do it time and when we as individuals within a body live our lives on mission to love God and love others daily, one life at a time, we will see the revolution.

It’s time for us to put our faith into action and let it be expressed in love to everyone we meet. It’s time to be unleashed and let our community see and be impacted by Jesus and who He really is. He must not be contained!

• Who will you love today with the love of Jesus?
• What is God calling you to?

If you have questions regarding, or would like to discuss, today’s devotion, please contact Chris.

Matthew 22:37-39 and Luke 10:37

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (NLT)

Do this and you will live. (NIV)

Two very important words challenge our faith into action - DO THIS. That's right, do this! This thing we’ve been talking about? Go do it. No more talking, now it’s time for action.

In any sport, there’s practice and preparation which all starts with a certain philosophy or strategy to win a competition. A coach has a belief and a style about how her team can get victories. The practices she conducts teach this style and the team repeats drills to make the strategy routine. But teams do not score based on their understanding of the strategy. They do not get points for practice. The team must prove their understanding and skill on the court or the field. They may be great in practice, but in order for their training to matter, they must do it.

It’s pretty easy to say, “I love God and I love other people.” It’s a whole different deal to do it. Jesus doesn’t leave the discussion in Luke 10 as simple rhetoric. He ends with the challenge to go and do.

We are courageous followers of Jesus who love God and love people and PROVE IT daily...by DOING IT.

• If you were on trial, accused of loving God and people, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
• Would those who you’ve only known a short amount of time recognize that there’s “just something different” about you?

If you have questions regarding, or would like to discuss, today’s devotion, please contact Chris.