DAILY BIBLE STUDY CEDARCREEKCHURCH
Step Out in Faith January 28, 2019 Today s Bible Reading: Mark 13 In this week s LivingItOut we will be finishing the book of Mark. Today, we read Mark 13 which shares a collection of prophecies that Jesus had revealed to his four closest disciples. One prophecy was about the precious temple being destroyed. Upon hearing this, they initially doubted Jesus, but later, they asked questions about how and when it would happen (Mark 13:4). The disciples did not understand the significance of what Jesus had said because they had not experienced the full story of God yet. They did not have vision beyond what they could see in front of them. They saw it through the lens of their culture and society rather than through the lens of faith in God. In their day, temple worship was at the center of society. For Jesus to say that it would be destroyed was blasphemous. Jesus had a greater purpose in what he was saying he would become the center of their lives not the temple. In Jewish culture, they knew sin had to be atoned before coming to God, so they would offer a sacrifice at the temple. Jesus knew that they would no longer need to continue making sacrifices. He had come to bring a new era filled with a new way of life consisting of love and an affectionate relationship with the Father. He would be the sacrificial lamb that would atone for their sins and the sins of the entire world. Psalms 37:4-5 4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart s desires. 5 Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. People nowadays still view faith through the lens of culture and society instead of our relationship with Jesus. A societal norm when it comes to faith is to follow after emotions instead of what God says is true. I am not saying that feelings are evil, but they should not control us and dictate our decisions. As Ben mentioned this weekend, feelings like fears and regrets make horrible guides. By allowing your feelings to run your life, you might end up in a direction you would rather not be going. Stepping out in faith means you might not understand the fullness of what God is calling you to do. God wants you to trust 1
him and not lean on your own understanding he will lead you in the right direction. Because God is faithful and loving, you can step out in faith even when you don't understand. In our world that is filled with emotion, we point fingers, follow what others say, and pick at God's Word. But when we know God's story, we can trust his Word and tell others about Jesus by showing his love. When you truly worship God in this way, he is going to take you in the right direction the direction you may never have thought you could go. Questions: What holds you back from trusting God? Do you get caught up in societal norms or do you follow God's truth? Is it hard for you to love others and tell them about Jesus? Next Steps: Step out in faith when you know God is leading you to do something. Tell people about him. Prayer: God, thank you for how faithful you are. Thank you that I can come before you because of your son, Jesus. I pray that you would make the truth known about who you are. It is so easy to lose sight of who you are in this world which is constantly pressuring us to follow emotion and what everyone else is doing. I don't want to lose sight of you because I am trusting that you won't fail me. I am going to take a step of faith wherever you lead me, even though I don't fully understand. Even though this is hard, I am trusting that you re going to make it work in my life. Amen! This post was written by Rebecca Roberts, a first-time contributor to the LivingItOut Bible Study. 2
Trust Him! January 29, 2019 Today s Bible Reading: Mark 14:1-31 In today s reading, Jesus twice predicts his own immediate future. First, he praises the woman who pours precious perfume over his head (verse 3), noting that she had done a beautiful thing to him to prepare him for his burial. Second, during the last supper, he states that he will not be drinking wine again until he is in the kingdom of God (verse 25), thus foreshadowing his own death. Mark 14:24-25 (NIV) 24 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many, he said to them. 25 Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. I cannot even fathom what it must have been like for Jesus to be aware of his upcoming fate. As we will see in tomorrow s reading, he was clearly struggling with it when he was praying in the garden of Gethsemane. But yet in the end, he chose to trust God and reimagine his life following his death and resurrection. By doing so, he allowed God to do amazing things through him as God had planned all along. In this past weekend s message, Lead Pastor Ben Snyder talked about how our willingness to trust God determines our capacity to reimagine our best life. When we trust God in who we are and where he is taking us, we are able to reimagine what life could be like. On the flip side, if we do not trust, we cannot imagine where we are going. So the next time you feel like your life is spinning out of control, or when you feel helpless, when you do not know what to do to turn your life around and get it back on track, pause and pray. Pray that you can let go of trying to do it all by yourself. Admit you need help to fix what is going wrong in your life. Then in your heart decide to trust him. Just like Jesus decided to trust God to work miracles through his sacrifice. Just like Jesus reimagined his life after his death as sitting by God s side. When we have God by our side and he is walking with us hand-inhand, there is always hope. When we trust him, he will not only allow us to reimagine our best life, but by trusting him, we are also inviting Jesus to equip us so that he may do amazing things through us for others. 3
Questions: Is your life going in the direction you would like it to? If not, have you paused and asked God why and to help you? Have you admitted that you will need his help and the help of others to steer you back to the right course? Do you know someone who may need your help to reimagine their best life? Next Steps: List the main things that you are unhappy about in your life. Write down what you would rather like your life to be in these areas. Then list the necessary steps you will need to take to get from how things are now to how you would like them to be. Prayer: Dear Father, please help me trust you so that I might reimagine my life as my best life possible the life you have planned for me. Please let me admit to myself where my life is going in the wrong direction and that I will need your help and the help of others to turn things around. Give me the strength and courage to take the necessary steps to fix my life with your help so that I may live my best life possible. Amen. This post was written by Cordula Mora, a regular contributor to and editor of the LivingItOut Bible Study. 4
Let Vision Guide You January 30, 2019 Today s Bible Reading: Mark 14:32-72 The events experienced by Christ in Mark 14:32-72 are difficult (for me) to fathom. These events do NOT include his crucifixion they are events leading up to his crucifixion. In verse 32, we see Jesus overwhelmed with sorrow. He knows what is ahead of him, and what he will have to endure in the hours ahead leading to his death on the cross. This past weekend Ben shared that vision allows our future potential to guide our present dilemma. I can't think of a worse "present dilemma" than what Jesus was experiencing at that moment. Yet even though knowing what was awaiting him and being deeply distressed and troubled by it, he did not let those feelings guide him. Personally, I let my feelings, fears, and regrets guide me through dilemmas more often than I would like to admit. Sometimes I let fear keep me from accepting a new challenge at work. Other times I let past hurts or regrets keep me from developing a deeper level of friendship with others. Most often when I encounter a dilemma, I let my feelings guide me more than I should. For example, as a parent, it's my anger, frustration or disappointment in them guiding the way I discipline my children. Each time that I let feelings, fear, and regret guide me, I am reminded that they are horrible guides. They don t lead me out of my dilemma, and they certainly don t lead to future potential. Through Jesus prayer in Mark 14:35-36, we see a glimpse into what can move us past our present dilemma and into future potential. Mark 14:35-36 35 He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. 36 Abba, Father, he cried out, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine. In Jesus most overwhelming moment he focused on the vision that God had for him and mankind. A vision that would make it possible for us to have a 5
relationship with him. He looked past the present dilemma and into the future potential that was God s will for us to be redeemed. What a fantastic example for us to follow. When we are overwhelmed by our present situations or the difficulties ahead, look for the bigger vision that God has for you and let it be your guide to your future potential. Questions: What stood out to you from today s reading in Mark 14:32-72? Did you learn a truth about God from today s reading? Is there a command that you need to pay attention to and obey? What is the greater vision God has for your life? Next Steps: List the current dilemmas that you find yourself going through? Under each dilemma, write down what is guiding you through it? Pray and ask God to help you see the vision that will lead you to future potential. Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father. I thank you for Jesus and for the example he gave us to follow as he lived here on Earth. He saw the vision and plan you had for his life and for my life, and he allowed that to guide his steps. I pray that as I go throughout this week, that I will let your plan for my life be the guide to all that I do. Amen. This post was written by the LivingItOut Bible Study Team. 6
If I Could Only (Re)Imagine January 31, 2019 Today s Bible Reading: Mark 15 Have you ever found yourself wishing, "If only I was different"? Perhaps you wish you were better educated, but no, you tell yourself, you're not smart enough. Or you wish you were kinder or more generous, but you re always too busy and too broke. Maybe you find yourself wishing you had been a better parent, but your kids are grown and gone so that ship has sailed. In other words, do you ever feel that no matter how much you try, you're never good, clever, pretty, athletic, or you name it enough to deserve love, peace, or acceptance? Unfortunately, whatever you think your deficiency is, you re probably right. The fact is no one measures up or feels worthy of love, respect, success, or being useful to God. Why? Because we aren t. Romans 3:23 states, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. In 2002, Rick Warren wrote a wildly popular book called, The Purpose Driven Life. The first two sentences in the book are, It s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. Why do you suppose that is? Rick Warren is right: if you have admitted to and repented for your sins and if you believe Christ paid the terrible price that day so long ago to set you free from your just punishment for those sins, you now belong to the one true God. Your life can now be bigger and more fulfilling than you can ever have imagined or achieved. How is that possible? As Mark reports in chapter 15 of his gospel: Jesus, a completely innocent man, stood in our place and was mocked, beaten, spit on, and whipped within one lash of his human life. He carried all our sins to the cross at Golgotha, the hill where all the Roman crucifixions took place in this area, and died for those sins. When Jesus rose from the dead, he made it possible for all of our lives to change forever. He did that for you personally. He died to pay the just penalty for your sins so you could become a new creation. In other words, when you allow yourself to trust God, admit to and repent for your sins and accept Jesus gift, he will send the Holy Spirit in his name to be with you as he promised the disciples in John 14:1-31. Then your life will be moving into an ever deeper relationship with God. 7
There it is that s why you can re-imagine who you are and what you can be. You can be someone no longer controlled by your sinful nature because the Holy Spirit lives in you to guide, guard, and counsel you. The Spirit battles your sinful nature as you continue to grow as a new creation in Christ for the rest of your life here and on into eternity. So re-imagine away. Ask God to show and tell you about the person he had in mind when he meticulously designed you and gave you life. Then embrace it. Questions: Do you understand the need for salvation? What is it and how can you obtain it? If you haven t acknowledged your need for salvation because of your sinful nature, if you haven t asked for forgiveness from God and accepted Christ as the only way to a loving relationship with God, why have you not? Next Steps: Take five minutes and begin to reimagine what God can do through you. Journal about the things that come to your mind and trust God with your future potential. If you have trouble imagining how God can use you, consider taking GrowthTrack. Prayer: Thank you Lord for loving me so much you chose to die that I might live. Lord, please grant me your grace and give me faith to accept Christ as the perfect payment for my wretched sins. Help me to seek you daily and listen for and obey the leading of your Holy Spirit in all my actions, reactions, thoughts, and words. In the name of my savior, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen. This post was written by Martha Preckler, a regular contributor to the LivingItOut Bible Study. 8
What on Earth are You Up To? February 1, 2019 Today s Bible Reading: Mark 16 Mark 15:44-47 44 Pilate couldn t believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman officer and asked if he had died yet. 45 The officer confirmed that Jesus was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. 46 Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth. Then he took Jesus body down from the cross, wrapped it in the cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus body was laid. Mark 16:2-8 2 Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they (v. 47 above) went to the tomb. 3 On the way they were asking each other, Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb? 4 But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside. 5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, 6 but the angel said, Don t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died. 8 The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened. Right up to the death of Jesus, his followers believed that all of scripture pointed to his life being the work and mission of the Messiah. That ended, in their minds, when he hung on the cross that Friday afternoon. Little did they know that Jesus death was the beginning of the culmination of God's redemptive plan. Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and defeated death the ultimate consequence of our sin. But the women s response did not reflect that victory! Why not? Everything happened just as Jesus had told them in the months and weeks prior to this event. Did they hear his words but not believe? Did they not hear his words 9
because they didn t want to hear them? Were their ideas of how this was all supposed to work out interfering with the reality of what did happen? I think: all of the above! I have found (in my advanced years!) that I hear what I want to hear, believe that I am correct in my thinking, and that my desired outcome is the proper way things should resolve. But God had this all planned out way before I arrived for my short role on the scene, and I have found out, often the hard way, that his plan is better than mine, as the women at the tomb soon discovered. This reminds me that my willingness to trust God determines my capacity to reimagine my best life. When circumstances arise that cause me to wonder what God is up to, I choose to trust that he is good, that he loves me, that his plans for me offer me my best life, whether I understand how I might arrive there or not. My favorite song right now is from Hillsong United, the chorus of which says, I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who you say I am. You are for me, not against me. I am who you say I am. When I live in the truth of that, my best life is before me! Questions: Do you trust God in all the crazy circumstances of your life? Can you imagine your best life possible as intended by God? Next Steps: Spend some time this week listing all the ways how God has shown up for you in the past and thanking him for those times. List the things that concern you right now and then re-read your list from above to remind you that God will be there for you. Relax! Prayer: Abba Father, how grateful I am to be your child. That I can know that you are for me and not against me. I pray today that you would increase my trust in your amazing plan for my life, and that I would embrace your plan for my life with new confidence. I am who YOU say I am! Amen. This post was written by Lauri White, a regular contributor to the LivingItOut Bible Study. 10