Solutions
November 10, 2006
Some of you read the sermon I posted last week on Romans 8 as it related to a financial crisis and mission recommitment in our church. Today, I am updating that theme in hopes that what we are working through may be an encouragment in ylour life and work. I call, it SOLUTIONS
Deuteronomy
28:1-14 (NIV © 1999, International Bible Society – all scriptures quoted
from NIV)
1- If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his
commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the
nations on earth. 2 -All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you
if you obey the LORD your God:
3 - You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
4 -The
fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of
your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
5 - Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
6 -You
will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
7 -
The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated
before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in
seven.
8 -
The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand
to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
9 -
The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if
you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. 10 - Then all the
peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they
will fear you. 11 - The LORD will grant
you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock
and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give
you.
12 -
The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on
your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 - The LORD will make
you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD
your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be
at the top, never at the bottom. 14 - Do not turn aside from any of the
commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and
serving them.
The Process
- Read this scripture
daily and discuss fresh insights with a friend/prayer partner.
- Call your
friend/prayer partner daily to share the devotional and pray for God’s
solutions in your life and in the life of our church.
- Continue your own
personal daily Bible reading and find applications for our common concerns
as a church and the concept of the day.
S for Seek; O for Obey; L for Lean, Learn, and Love; U for Understand;
T for Trust and Test; I for Innovate and Intercede; O for Obligate; N for
Necessity; S for Surrender
Monday, November 13 – Seek
What are you discovering in your daily Bible reading about seeking God?
What does the Deuteronomy passage suggest, imply, or teach about seeking God?
Read the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:7-12. What do they teach us about seeking?
How can seeking God as individual members and as a
church provide solutions to our needs and direction for ministry? In a separate
journal, record some of the things God is speaking to
your heart.
Tuesday, November 14 –Obey
What are you discovering in your daily Bible reading about obeying God?
What does the Deuteronomy passage suggest, imply, or teach about obeying God?
Read I Samuel 15:22. What does it teach us about obeying?
How can obeying God as individual members and as a
church provide solutions to our needs and direction for ministry? In a separate
journal, record some of the things God is speaking to
your heart.
Wednesday, November 15 – Learn, Lean, and Love
What are you discovering in your daily Bible reading about these
disciplines? What does the Deuteronomy passage suggest, imply, or teach about
them? What does it mean to learn from
God, to lean on Him, and to love Him? Read Matthew 11:28-30 for learning,
Proverbs 3:5-6 for leaning, and Matthew 22:34-40 for loving. What do these verse teach us about how we make decisions and gain
insight into solutions? In a separate journal, record some of the things God is speaking to your heart.
Thursday, November 16 – Understand
What are you discovering in your daily Bible reading about
understanding God’s will? What does the Deuteronomy passage suggest, imply, or
teach about understanding? What does it
help you to actually understand about God? Read Psalm 119:125? Stop and pray
that prayer to God in your own words. How can understanding God’s ways provide
solutions to our needs and direction for ministry? In a separate journal,
record some of the things God is speaking to your
heart.
Friday, November 17 – Trust and Test (take a risk)
What are you discovering in your daily Bible reading about trusting
God? What does the Deuteronomy passage suggest, imply, or teach about trusting
God? In the time with your prayer partner, what scriptures come to mind about
trusting God? How can trusting God as individual
members and as a church provide solutions to our needs and direction for
ministry? What are some areas of your
personal and church life where you need to trust God more? While testing God is generally frowned upon
in scripture, there are a few times where we are
challenged to do so. Malachi 3:6-12 is one of those times. What is the
relationship between trusting Him and taking the risk of testing His promise?
What good are God’s promises if we do not put them into practice? In a separate
journal, record some of the things God is speaking to
your heart.
Saturday, November 18
Review and Catch-Up
Apply God’s grace to your life if you are behind, have not gotten
started, or missed a day. Use this day to catch up. What are you discovering in
your daily Bible reading about seeking God? What does the Deuteronomy passage
suggest, imply, or teach about the words we have been considering? Read what
you would ordinarily read today. If you don’t have a Bible reading program,
read the 18th chapter of Proverbs and the 18th Psalm as
the correspond d to the day of the month.. What do
they teach us about our current situation? How can they help provide solutions
to our needs and direction for ministry? In a separate journal, record some of
the things God is speaking to your heart.
Sunday, November 19
Come to church.
Do what you do to prepare for worship. Come prayerfully and
expectantly. Touch base with your prayer partner. What are you discovering in
your daily Bible reading about seeking God? Share some of that with folks at
church. What has the Deuteronomy passage suggested, implied, or taught you this
week? Share with someone. How can doing these exercises individual members and
as a church provide solutions to our needs and direction for ministry? In a separate
journal, record some of the things God is speaking to
your heart. Take notes on Pastor Jack’s sermon. Pick up this week’s assignment.
Rejoice!
Monday, November 20 –Innovate and
Intercede
Read Joel 2:28 and Daniel 9:17-23.What does the Holy Spirit say to you
about intercessory prayer and innovation (The act of introducing
something new) What are you
discovering in your daily Bible reading about how
God speaks fresh insights into our lives through prayer? What does the
Deuteronomy passage suggest, imply, or teach about these things? How can these
insights equip us as individual members and as a church to provide solutions to
our needs and direction for ministry? In a separate journal, record some of the
things God is speaking to your heart.
Tuesday, November 21 –Obligate
What are you discovering in your daily Bible reading about our
obligations to God? What does the Deuteronomy passage suggest, imply, or teach
about that? Read Romans 1:14-16 and 8:12-13. What do these two passages teach
us? What are some other obligations we have that you can remember from
scripture? How can fulfilling our obligations to God and others as individual
members and as a church provide solutions to our needs and direction for
ministry? In a separate journal, record some of the things God is speaking to your heart.
Wednesday, November 22 –Necessity
Read Philippians 1:21-24, II Corinthians 9:4, an
d Acts 1:21 to see some examples where the church and the apostles acted out of
necessity. How do we determine what is necessary today? What are you
discovering in your daily Bible reading about GFo’d
timeless necessities? What does the Deuteronomy passage suggest, imply, or
teach about this? How can zeroing in on necessities as individual members and
as a church provide solutions to our needs and direction for ministry? In a
separate journal, record some of the things God is
speaking to your heart.
Thursday, November 23 –Surrender
A biblical word for surrender is “consecrated.” What are you
discovering in your daily Bible reading about consecrating ourselves and our
possessions to God? What does the Deuteronomy passage suggest, imply, or teach
about consecration and surrender? The first part of Leviticus 11:44. What does
it teach us about consecration? How can consecrating ourselves to God as
individual members and as a church provide solutions to our needs and direction
for ministry? In a separate journal, record some of the things God is speaking to your heart.
Friday, November 24
SOLUTIONS
Read the Deuteronomy passage in another translation today and look for
each of the concepts of “solutions.” Pray through each of them..
Saturday, November 25 and Sunday
Review and Commit
See the assignments for last Saturday and Sunday and apply them to
where you are today. What are the key issues that God has brought to your heart
over these last two weeks and what will you do about them?