PROJECT TITLE Blueprints for Life ARCHITECT: Jesus. 1 Cor. 3:11. Faith Tools for Men

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1 PROJECT TITLE Blueprints for Life ARCHITECT: Jesus 1 Cor. 3:11 Faith Tools for Men

2 PROJECT TITLE Blueprints for Life ARCHITECT: Jesus 1 Cor. 3:11 Faith Tools for Men A. Trevor Sutton

3 The mission of CTA is to glorify God by providing purposeful products that lift up and encourage the body of Christ because we love him. PROJECT TITLE Blueprints for Life ARCHITECT: Jesus Chapter 1 Faith Tools for Men A. Trevor Sutton Copyright 2017 CTA, Inc Larkin Williams Rd. Fenton, MO All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of CTA, Inc. Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ISBN: Printed in Thailand

4 NOTHING in this world is perfectly straight, level, and true. Concrete slabs always have a slight slant. Boards are never perfectly straight. Shelves are never exactly level. Everything seems to be just the slightest bit off... But God s blueprints for life are never bent, crooked, or untrue. There are no wobbles, wrinkles, or warps. In a world where everything is a little off, God s plan for his creation is spot on. He has drawn up perfect plans for our lives, and his Son, Jesus Christ, is life s sure foundation. Keep that in mind as you read the devotions found in this chapter. Plumb Line A plum is a fruit, pure juicy sweetness. A plumb is a building tool, solid lead. Do not let their similar names fool you. They do have one thing in common, though: drop them and they will both fall. Plums, plumbs, and everything else on earth yields to gravity. Everything in God s creation yields to his gracious will. Everything... except his human creatures. We were made in God s image, designed to live and move and have our being in him. But we rebelled. We are bent, crooked, sinful. Still, God made a way to bring us back into alignment with himself. That plan centers squarely on the cross of his own Son, Jesus Christ. I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line. Isaiah 28:17 Drop the plumb line of God s Word on your life. What is crooked, untrue? PRAYER STARTER: Lord Jesus, forgive and straighten all that is untrue in me

5 Compass Draw a hundred circles freehand, and you will have a hundred imperfect circles. Even the steadiest hand creates a circle that is slightly defective. Draw a hundred circles with a compass, and you will have a hundred perfect circles. Architects know that when they rely on a compass, they will create a flawless circle. Every. Single. Time. Live your life a hundred times, and you will have a hundred imperfect lives. Even the most moral, honorable man will stumble, slip, and sin. That presents a problem, because an eternal relationship with God requires a life of perfection. No slip-ups, no blemished records allowed. It is impossible to create that kind of record without relying on Jesus Christ. He is your compass: Living the perfect life in your place. Shedding his perfect blood for you. Rising from the grave perfectly victorious over sin and death. His perfect life is yours through faith. In Christ Jesus, God looks at you and sees a man that is flawless. Every. Single. Time. You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48 Draw a number of circles on a piece of paper. Label each with one of your God-given callings (for example, son, husband, father, employee, neighbor). Inside the circles, list the things you have done perfectly. Outside the circles, list what you have failed to do and the things you have done imperfectly. Pray about the items outside the circles, receiving God s forgiveness in Jesus for your imperfections. 6 PRAYER STARTER: Heavenly Father, cover my life in the perfect life of Jesus... 7

6 Spirit Level Most everyone knows what levels are for. Whether you re hanging a picture or building a house, you ll almost certainly use one. We call this tool simply a level. You may be less familiar with its complete name: spirit level. This name comes from the liquid spirits used to suspend the tiny bubble we use to frame a wall, to hang a picture. Imagine you could place a spirit level against your life. What would it reveal? Would it show you are a weary spirit traveling day by day through deep valleys and over steep mountains? Likely so. Our lives here on earth are seldom straight and smooth, level and leisurely. That s why we can find comfort in remembering that God knows the rocky roads we walk. We can experience peace in knowing that our Savior walks beside us, no matter how rough and uneven our path. He guards our steps, guiding us away from the potholes of fear and despair. He warns us as we approach the cliffs of temptation and supports us as we trek through the valleys of trouble and distress. Identify four deep valleys or steep mountains you have encountered in life. Then think of one current valley or mountain. Ask God to show you how he was at work in every time of challenge. Ask him to assure you of his presence in your current situation. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! Psalm 143:10 8 PRAYER STARTER: Let your good Spirit lead me, O Lord,... 9

7 Triangle Many inventions improve with time. Computers, automobiles, and telephones, for instance. Other inventions simply require no further improvements. The triangle also known as a set square is one such tool. For generation after generation, this tool has remained essentially the same. Perhaps someone, someday, will design an improvement. Then again, perhaps not. For sure, though, no one will ever improve upon God s perfect plan to rescue us from our sin, the eternal blueprint in which he detailed our salvation. The one, true God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit developed it endless ages ago. He has been at work from all eternity to bring the details into reality. Working from this blueprint, God the Father created you. He has forgiven your sins through the perfect life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God the Son. God the Holy Spirit fills you with faith to believe it. He keeps you in that faith, assuring and reassuring you of his forgiveness and mercy, day by day. Though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12 Cut three cords of different colors. Place all three cords in your Bible at Deuteronomy 6:4. As you read your Bible in coming days, place one colored cord at any references you find to the Father, another colored cord at any references to the Son, and another colored cord cord at references to the Holy Spirit. 10 PRAYER STARTER: O God, you have created and redeemed me. You continue to sustain me, just as you have planned... 11

8 Tape Measure Measure twice; cut once. Measure incorrectly and you will cut incorrectly. Measure rightly and you will cut rightly. God alone measures everything rightly. He alone takes an accurate measure of your thoughts and actions, your intentions and goals, your accomplishments and failures. Sadly, by his measure, all come up short. All but Christ Jesus himself. In every way, his life measured up to God s perfect standard of holiness and righteousness. And now, by faith in him and what he did for you on his cross, that perfection is yours. His death was your death, and his resurrection is now yours, too! Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span? Isaiah 40:12 Put a tape measure in your pocket or on your desk and let it remind you of how God measures you in Christ Jesus. PRAYER STARTER: Jesus, I don t measure up, but in your death and resurrection you have PROJECT TITLE Blueprints for Life ARCHITECT: Jesus Chapter 2