Lent Devotional Journal 2008 February 6 - March 17
Week 1 Read Mark 1:1-20 WHERE AM I NOW? Shift from ignoring God daily to daily devotion! Upgrade from merely being in a relationship to being in fellowship with Him. Christians need daily devotion as a spiritual exercise: reading, meditating, praying and fasting to recalibrate your spiritual GPS (Godly Placement System: the Holy Spirit). God gives His inspired Word as a service manual to ensure that the Holy Spirit is well maintained. He spiritually illuminates the service engine light -- before a major breakdown! Health Tip: Partner with others to help encourage you to commit to daily devotion. Goal for the Week: For God to reveal your state of mind, spirit and body! Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit will assess my psychological, spiritual and emotional state of being. Reveal what I need to do to become healthy and whole. Amen! Reflecting Questions: What habits and behaviors do I need to confess that prevent me from getting close to God? Write in your journal what God reveals.
Lent Devotinal Journal 2008 Week 1 Notes February 3-9
Week 2 Read Mark 1:16-2:12 WHAT DO I NEED TO CHANGE? When your GPS (God Positioning System) is working properly, your discernment is optimal. God reveals emotional, relational, physical, spiritual, psychological (dis)eases, issues and challenges hindering your wholeness and wellness. God's desire is to make you whole and healthy! Health Tip: Refrain from eating, socializing, and engaging in practices that are counter productive. Goal for the Week: Replace every negative influence with an equally constructive positive influence or practice. Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father, reveal positive influences and practices to replace negatives ones. Reflecting Questions: What social practices do I need to change? What psychological baggage do I need to drop off that's infecting my thinking and filtering? What nutritional habits do I need to change that are creating health problems and challenges? Write in your journal what God reveals.
Lent Devotinal Journal 2008 Week 2 Notes February 10-16
Week 3 Read Mark 2:13-3:35; Matthew 5:9 WHAT NEW THING GOD WANTS TO DO IN ME? Setbacks, disappointments, and detours are not designed to destroy you. God permits such things to either prove what He has put in you or to get you back on track to where He's taking you. There are no meaningless events in the life of a believer. God is always teaching or testing! A setback is a set up for a come back. A detour is a direction arrow to keep you from getting lost. Disappointments are road signs to let you know you're off course. You have moved from going to church to going to worship! You are heading in a new direction; don't be afraid to move ahead! Health Tip: Celebrate the good things that happen, the growth you have already experienced, and where you are now. Goal for the Week: Focus on all of the gains and how they occurred and seek to perfect the things that got you there. Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father, give me the courage to obey your voice and clearly see your new plan for my life. Reflecting Questions: What assessments do you want me to make to grow closer and become healthier? Write in your journal what God reveals.
Lent Devotinal Journal 2008 Week 3 Notes February 17-23
Week 4 Read Mark 4:21; Matthew 5: 4-12, 9:13 WHAT NEW THING DOES GOD WANT TO DO THROUGH ME? The first Sunday of 2008, Pastor Spencer preached a sermon entitled I'm Glad You're Back, Luke 15: 11-24. One of the most pivotal points in that message was the shift the wasteful (prodigal) son made from asking his father to give him his inheritance to make me your servant. God wants His people to move from a give me spirit to a make me spirit! Health Tip: Refrain from foods and activities that merely satisfy selfish cravings, but have little or no nutritional, spiritual or emotional value. Goal for the Week: Focus on opportunities to help and serve others, before self! Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father reveal to me ministry and service opportunities to engage in this year. Reflecting Questions: How can I contribute to my Small Group, coworkers and/or community? In what ministry do you want me to enlist? Write in your journal what God reveals.
Lent Devotinal Journal 2008 Week 4 Notes February 24 - March 1
Week 5 Read Mark 4-5:20 WHEN I DON'T SEE RESULTS? Someone once said it's not so much how you start a thing but how you end a thing that matters most. Christians often have good intentions to attend church more, read their Bible more, and to do more for the Lord but do not stick with their commitment when the return does not seem commensurate to the investment! Before you become guilty of quitting too soon, listen to what God said. Keep receiving and applying His word and expecting results. Be like a postage stamp, stick to it until you reach your desired goals! Health Tip: Don't focus more on the results than the relationships you're cultivating with God and others. Goal for this Week: Increase your reading regimen and time with God than previous weeks. Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father, help me to persevere even when I don't see results or think improvements are being made. Help me to dig deeper wells to quench my spiritual thirst and strengthen my emotional fiber. Reflecting Questions: How do I give more to you? How do I give more out to others? Write in your journal what God reveals.
Lent Devotinal Journal 2008 Week 5 Notes March 2-8
Week 6 Read Mark 5: 21-43; Luke 8:42-48; Mark 7:1-8; Mark 9:49-50; Mark 13:11-21 WHAT MORE DO I NEED TO GET RID OF? In any workout and nutrition plan, the deeper you get into it, the harder it seems to shed pounds or gain muscle mass. In a similar relationship between sin and intimacy, some things will easily be laid aside, but as you get closer to Him, you begin to recognize some stuff that's not so easily shaken off. Don't stop working out with Jesus! Health Tip: Pay closer attention to the subtle things that enter into your eye, ear and spirit gates. Even more, pay closer attention to what comes out of your mouth. Goal for this Week: Consult with members of your small group to develop a strategy to overcome at least one spiritual, emotional and nutritional hurdle you are struggling with. Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father, help me to get over the humps. Reflecting Questions: What can I do to overcome? How do I get the most out of my plan? Write in your journal what God reveals.
Lent Devotinal Journal 2008 Week 5 Notes March 9-15
Week 7 Read Mark 14, 15; John 10:1-16 THANK YOU LORD FOR THE JOURNEY! It's always great to reach your destination! Now that the season of Lent is coming to an end, take a moment to embrace and celebrate your progress. While there is more to do and the journey is not over, this leg of the journey is, so be thankful! Health Tip: Don't go back to the things you have overcome that were hindering your spiritual, physical and emotional wholeness and wellness. Goal for this Week: To reflect on all of God's revelations over the past weeks and see what the Lord has done. Prayer for the Week: Heavenly Father, thank you for the progress! Help me not to become complacent or content. Show me what I must do to continue moving closer to you and towards my personal resurrection(s). Reflecting Questions: What has the Lord revealed? What is my spiritual, emotional and psychological condition now, seven weeks later? Write in your journal what God reveals.
Lent Devotinal Journal 2008 Week 7 Notes March 16-22