Dominican Republic Mission Trip Devotional

Dominican Republic Mission Trip Devotional

Preparing Myself for Mission Monday What is the Gospel? Read Colossians 1:9-23 Very simply, the gospel means good news. Now it is really important that we understand that the gospel is news. It is not advice, restrictions, or even more rules. At its very core, the gospel is simply good news. News is an announcement and so is the gospel. But what is it an announcement it about? Well, it is an announcement that: 1. Something has happened 2. Something is happening 3. Something will happen In Colossians 1, we see each of these. 1. Something has happened We who were once separated from God have been brought back to God (Col. 1:13, 22a) 2. Something is happening God is now working in his people through his Spirit to present us holy and blameless before himself (Col. 1:14, 22b) 3. Something will happen We can be confident that this life is not the end. One day we will live with God forever, on this earth, in a world void of brokenness (Col. 1:20, 23) Ask that God would continue to give you a greater understanding of the gospel and its power in your life.

Preparing Myself for Mission Tuesday Why am I going? Read Mark 7:1-23 Why do I want to go on this mission trip? Your answer may be to see people saved, to minister to people of a different culture, to go on a cool trip, or something else. God s plan for you, however, is the same as it has always been for every other week in your life. It s the plan that this passage in Mark 7 lays out. God wants you to know him and to fall in love with him. It is very easy to do the work of God and miss the God of the work. We can appear to honor God with our actions while our hearts are far from him. Even more than serving others, God desires you to experience Him on your mission trip. That is why Christ told his disciples that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. It is important to know that loving and serving others, though still a huge commandment is not as important as the deepening of one s relationship with the Jesus. You see everything we do is a direct reflection of what is in our hearts. If Jesus captures our hearts, our actions and lifestyle will reflect his. Jesus wants, primarily, for you to fall more in love with him on this trip. If that happens, his work will be done. Because this is God s desire for you, it should be your primary desire on your trip as well. Take a minute to slowly read over Mark 7:1-23 again. Ask that he would make your desires for this trip that same as his desires. Pray that you will begin to experience the truth of his promises as you commit more of your time and heart to Jesus.

Preparing Myself for Mission Wednesday The Second Commandment Read Luke 10:25-37 Someone once said that vision is birthed from burden. So, here s a question for you: What burdens you? What keeps you up at night? What do you desperately want to see changed for the glory of God? In this passage, we read that Jesus wants us to have a burden for our neighbors. He wants us to genuinely love them. To sympathize with their hurt and meet them where they are with the gospel. So, how much will you hurt for them? How much will you long to see their needs met? What are you willing to do to help meet their needs? The second most important thing that God has ordained for you to do with your life is to love your neighbor as yourself. Take a minute and write out what type of people you find difficult to love: Ask God to help you to love those people as much as you love yourself. Ask him to prepare your heart to love whoever he places around you on this trip. Take a few minutes to meditate on verses 36 & 37. Slowly read these over several times. Then close your eyes and repeat them to yourself as best you can. Ask God to prepare your heart to be merciful to whatever neighbors He gives you on this trip.

Preparing Myself for Mission Thursday Lay Aside Every Weight Read Hebrews 11:32-12:2 In your Bible, underline every positive thing that happened to the people mentioned of in verses 33-35. Next, circle every negative thing that happened to the people mentioned in verses 36-38. This passage is referring to the Old Testament heroes of faith. Many of them saw God move in mighty ways that we would think miraculous today. Many others were made outcasts, beaten, or brutally killed. Verse 40 says that God has provided something for us than he did for those saints. What has he provided? The answer: His very own Spirit. You see they did not have the Holy Spirit. Through Christ, God has made a way for you to experience his person, indwelling presence every day of your life. Because of this, you have the potential to see equal victories, and persevere through trials just as severe as those saints described in Hebrews 11. Are you ready? What must you do to prepare yourself? Hebrews 12:1-2 shows us. Jesus is ready to make you able for his work. Your next move to fix your eyes on Jesus and in doing so, we are told to lay aside the things in our lives that hold us back Jesus (sin habits, distractions, idols). As this process progresses, we begin to find that Jesus is worth more and is better than anything that would keep us from him. So, what do you need to lay aside? For the next 7 & 1 2 weeks begin praying, each day, that God would give you the wisdom and strength to lay aside the weights that take your eyes off Jesus.

Preparing Myself for Mission Friday Walking in the Spirit Read Galatians 5:14-26 Look carefully at verses 15, 19, 20, 21 & 26. Is there anything listed there that you struggle with? Read Galatians 5:17 again. What is the Holy Spirit designed to do inside of you? Read Galatians 5:22-23 again. Are there any aspects of the fruit of the Spirit that are not always evident in your life? Which ones? Read Galatians 5:25 again. Paul tells the Galatian Christians that they are to live/walk by the. Since he has to command them to do this, is it something they have to make an intentional effort to do? As followers of Jesus, we have been blessed with God s empowering Spirit. This enables us to live a life consistent with the way of Jesus. What is one thing you can do to pay closer attention to God s presence and his voice throughout an average day? Learning to walk in the Spirit is like learning to walk. It takes practice. It takes intentional effort. It takes time to become good at it. And it leads to running and jumping and living in a way you cannot understand until you actually get there. Ask God to teach you how to walk in the Spirit. Ask Him to help you be in tune with his Spirit in your live. Thank Him for the promise that Galatians 5 is actually possible..

Mission Trip Week Saturday Praying God s Word Read Psalm 119:9-16 God has given tool of praying His Word to give us victory in our life with Christ. Praying God s very words invokes the power found in the truth of those words and trains your mind to focus on God s will especially in regards to the battles you will face. Now, this might sound a bit out of the ordinary, however it is actually pretty easy. When we pray God s Word, we simply take verses describing truths that should be evident in our lives, or truths you would like to see come to pass in the lives of others, and then ask God to cause those verses to come to fruition in you and others. Example 1: If you struggle with lustful thoughts or the desire to harm yourself, you could pray 2 Corinthians 10:5. You could pray something like this: Dear Lord, help me right now to take every thought captive. I know that the desires I am struggling with are not part of your will for my life, so help me to think about you and not those things right now. Example 2: If you know of Christians who are being persecuted or lured away from God, you could pray John 17:11. Dear Jesus, I lift up my brothers and sisters in Syia. I know that they are going through trials right now, but I pray that you will keep them in your name, and keep them and the other Christians there as one. Scriptures to pray: Protection of other Christians John 17:11 Salvation for a lost person Jeremiah 24:7 Salvation of many lost people Daniel 14:3 Courage 2 Timothy 1:6-8 Eating Disorders 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Matthew 11:29-30; Romans 8:15-17 Self Harm 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 1:10; John 8:36; Romans 8:11 Sexual Addictions 1 Corinthians 6:18-20; Job 31:1; Matthew 5:28; Romans 12:1; Pick at least two issues above that you or someone you know deals with. Take some time praying those scriptures for yourself or over others.

Mission Trip Week Sunday Our Adversary; Our Advantage Read Ephesians 6:10-18 Write down every name found in this passage of whom our battle is against. Our battle is real. It is ongoing. It is daily. It is against an individual of great power. 1 Peter 5:8 says, be on the alert Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Despite this fact, we should not go through life in constant fear of our enemy. However, if we ignore that our battle is a spiritual one, we will neglect the spiritual weapons God has entrusted to us to provide us with great victory. Write out Ephesians 6:13. God is God and as such He has secured ultimate victory over the Enemy. There is nothing Satan can do to change that. God has provided a way for you to experience victory in your own life over your sin struggles and through your trials. Those weapons are also given to you to fight for victory in the lives of other Christians, and for the victory of salvation to be experienced in the lives of those who don t know Jesus. 1. Write down the names of five Christians you can pray for today. 2. Write down the initials of five people who don t need Jesus that you will pray for today. 3. Spend some time praying for them now.

Mission Trip Week Monday The Way, the Truth, & the Life Read John 14:1-9 We live in a world of brokenness. This brokenness is caused by a broken relationship between God and us. Jesus came to restore this broken relationship. Many of us are under the assumption that Jesus is primarily our ticket to heaven. However, the Bible teaches us that Jesus is so much more. In John 14, Jesus says that he is the way, the truth, and the life. Now, this may be a verse many of us have read before, however the ramifications of Jesus words are powerful. By claiming to be the way, the truth, and the life, Jesus is essentially telling us that HE is the very embodiment of salvation, truth, and even life itself! At the center of the gospel is Jesus. It is through Jesus and Jesus alone that God accomplishes of His purposes. And it is Him who we must focus on when sharing the gospel. We must be ready to communicate that faith in Jesus is the only way to salvation. We must be ready to proclaim that truth finds its end in Jesus. And we must be ready to demonstrate that true life is found in Christ alone. Write out the entire verse, John 14:6. Spend a few minutes meditating on it and committing it to memory. Ask God to help you to use this verse to present the gospel to a lost person sometime in the next two months. Ask God to use your recital of that verse to show a lost person that he/she needs Christ as savior.

Mission Trip Week Tuesday Born Again Read John 3:1-21 Based on this passage, what do you think it means to be born again? According to this passage, something supernatural happens when we place our faith in Jesus. We are born again. Understand this: God is not trying to beautify your life; he is trying to transform it. Many people think that Christianity is about behavior modification. Do this. Don t do that. This, however, is inconsistent with the gospel. Jesus is not here to give you a new set of rules. He s here to give you a new life. The world doesn t need more rules, it needs to be redeemed and this has been accomplished in through the perfect work of Christ. When we tell others about Jesus, we must emphasize the reality that Jesus has come to give new life. Ask God to help you to gain a deeper grasp on John chapter 3 so that you can use it to help lost people to see what they need. Go back and read John 3 one more time.

Mission Trip Week Wednesday Grace Alone Read Ephesians 2:1-10 Re-write the following in your own words: For by grace you have been saved through faith This is not of your own doing It is a gift of God Not a result of works Many world religions and self-proclaiming Christians believe that the litmus test for a relationship with God is based upon their own goodness. In Ephesians 2 (and other passages including Galatians 2:16 & 3:2) God clearly shows us that, although our good works are a result of our faith in Christ, they are not the cause of our salvation. A person does not need faith in Christ and good works to enter into God s Kingdom. A person who has life saving faith in Jesus will eventually, by the power of the Spirit, begin to reflect that faith in the way they live. If a person could obtain eternal life through his or her own goodness, Christ would never have had to come to Earth and die on the cross. There would be no gospel. Ask God to help you to use this passage correctly the next time you talk about salvation to a person who is trying to be good enough to enter into the Kingdom of God.

Mission Trip Week Thursday A Living Sacrifice Read Romans 12:1-21 Today is going to be a little bit different than the rest of the days this week. Here s what we want you to do: read this passage slowly. As you read it, think about each command. Underline in your Bible every command you read that you struggle to obey. Read it one more time. This time, after each command, stop and ask God to help you to obey that command. For ones you struggle with, ask Him to change your desires in that area, and help you to think and love and act as Christ did in that area. **This should take around 10 minutes.** Memorize: Write out chapter twelve, verses one and two. Spend a few minutes memorizing these verses. Thank God for the transformation he is causing in your life.