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DAY 1 - The Gospel in Your Day
Read: Matthew 28:16-20
Tell me if any of these scenarios sound familiar:
You spend time every morning reading your Bible and praying before you go off to work. However, by the end of your workday, on the way out to your car, you can think of few (if any) moments where you thought of God, let alone talked about him.
You attend church every Sunday, and engage in worship, pay attention to the sermon, and really think about how you can apply it to your life. On the way home, you stop at the store to pick up a few things, and are annoyed by the way your fellow shoppers are acting, and how slowly the cashier is ringing everyone up. You might even sigh loudly and mutter to yourself to express your displeasure.
Small group this week was a wonderful experience where you felt seen, poured into, and your spiritual growth was evident. When you get home, your spouse, kids, or roommate does something that annoys you to no end – and you snap at them, letting them know exactly how you feel about their behavior.
Do any of these sound like you? You’re not alone! It is common to compartmentalize our lives into “secular and sacred.” We act one way at church, and another at work, and another at home. We confine God to our “quiet times” and Sunday morning. What, after all, does God have to do with my work? I’m not a pastor! I’m just [insert your job description here].
Unfortunately, viewing our lives like this leads us into a mode of faulty thinking that compartmentalizes them into areas that exclude the power of the gospel to change the world around us. In reality, our entire lives are meant to point others to Jesus. When we do our devotions in the morning, we are not just “setting aside time for God,” but rather setting the tone for our day so that everything we do, every interaction we have, points another to Christ. Sunday morning isn’t just to fill us up to “get me through the week,” but it is to fill us up so that we can pour Christ into others.
Fluency requires immersion. Gospel fluency requires immersion. What does that look like? It looks like bringing the gospel – the good news of Jesus and his kingdom – into every aspect of our lives.
Questions to Consider:
What are some ways you compartmentalize your life into areas of “secular and sacred”?
What is something you can do to be more aware of where God is working around you – the places where the gospel of Jesus’ kingdom is pushing against the kingdom of the world?
What is one way you can demonstrate the gospel to someone you work with this week? Be specific.
(If you don’t work outside of home, you’re not off the hook! Instead, apply the question to someone you have regular contact with.)