What to expect this week

There will be another new series started this week on this blog, as we continue the 40 Day New Year and New Beginning Parable.

Stay tuned.

-- Stacy Duplease
Sent from Amazon Kindle Fire HDX
http://agodlyvision.blogspot.com

(Image credit: Microsoft images online 2009-2013.) 

Day 24: Colossians 3 and Worldly Versus Godly Living, Part 3

On Days 22 to 23, we read all the way through the text of Colossians 3 and looked at the text as a whole. Today, we’re going to start to break it down verse by verse, bit by bit. Does this sound good to you?

WHERE IS YOUR FOCUS?

Prayer Journaling and Contemplation Question: What do you think about and focus on?

If you put Philippians 4:4-8 down, good for you. You should.

If you said God, prayer, His Word, that’s also good.

Colossians 3:-12 also answers this question.

So does reciting memory verses.

However, let’s be honest. Where do our minds wander to before we think of these verses and these things to do to keep our mind on what we should and who we should? Answer that question now in your prayer journal. Jot down a quick answer.

SOC: STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS WRITING AND WHERE OUR THOUGHTS WANDER

Now, let’s go for a longer exercise here and try to go deep. Let’s try a Stream of Consciousness writing, which I call SOC for short:

Where does your mind wander? Take ten minutes more to answer that question. Set a timer and have it go off when ten minutes are up. Write a list, or in whatever format you would like. Keep writing. Don’t stop. Keep writing. Write down anything and everything that comes to mind. Be thorough. If you can’t think of something to write, then write the question: Where does my mind wander? Make sure to not stop writing for more than two seconds. Keep writing. As silly as your answer might be, get it down on the page.

SOC: STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS WRITING AND COLOSSIANS 3:2

Now, do a SOC about Colossians 3:2. Take ten minutes to do so.

PRAYER JOURNALING AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS

What jumps out at you? Why does it jump out at you?

What questions do you have?

How does this inspire and motivate you?

What does this mean to you and your life?

What do you need to stop in your life, regarding Colossians 3 and your prayer journaling?

What do you need to do more of in your life, according to Colossians 3?

How can you apply this to your life—starting today? Write out an action plan to apply this to your life.

Why is this important to me to remember?

What am I saying to God?

What is God saying to me?

Take your time and be through as you re-read and prayer journal.

MEMORY VERSES

Don’t forget your yearly Bible verse or your memory verses. Pray them back to God at this time, whether by memory or by looking at them. They are: Philippians 4:4-8; Psalm 90:12; 1 Samuel 2:1; Colossians 3:23-24; Ephesians 5:1-2. 

Day 23: Colossians 3 and Worldly Versus Godly Living, Part 2

Yesterday, we started to look at Colossians 3 and how it helps us live, and how not to, in the next year. Today, is part two of reading this chapter and opening ourselves up to God and what He has to say through this chapter.

So, go ahead and re-read this at this time:

Colossians 3 NLT

1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.

19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.

20 Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.

22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. 23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. 25 But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites.

-- NLT: Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

PRAYER JOURNALING AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS

What jumps out at you? Why does it jump out at you?

What questions do you have?

How does this inspire and motivate you?

What does this mean to you and your life?

How can you apply this to your life—starting today? Write out an action plan to apply this to your life.

Why is this important to me to remember?

What am I saying to God?

What is God saying to me?

Take your time and be through as you re-read and prayer journal.

MEMORY VERSES

Don’t forget your yearly Bible verse or your memory verses. Pray them back to God at this time, whether by memory or by looking at them. They are: Philippians 4:4-8; Psalm 90:12; 1 Samuel 2:1; Colossians 3:23-24; Ephesians 5:1-2. 

Day 22: Colossians 3 and Worldly Versus Godly Living, Part 1

How is it best to live this next year? That’s the question we are addressing in this 40 Day Devotional Bible Study. How do we color each moment of our lives (think of the parable in Day 1)?

One way is to address how we live the things of this world, our temptations, and our sins.

PRAYER JOURNALING AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS

1 How do you live of this world and not of godly things?

2 What are your temptations?

3 What is the thorn in your flesh? Or thorns? (You know… The things you keep repeating over and over and don’t meant to do so, but it happens, so you have to try again.)

4 How have you sinned this week?

5 How have you sinned today?

Let’s take a look at Colossians 3. We will take a look at this chapter for the rest of this week. Let’s do a read-through today and prayer journal anything that comes to mind.

Colossians 3 HCSB

1 So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God. 4 When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

5 Therefore, put to death what belongs to your worldly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, God’s wrath comes on the disobedient, 7 and you once walked in these things when you were living in them. 8 But now you must also put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator. 11 In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.

12 Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. 14 Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful. 16 Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

18 Wives, be submissive to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

19 Husbands, love your wives and don’t be bitter toward them.

20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

21 Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so they won’t become discouraged.

22 Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, in order to please men, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.

23 Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism.

-- HCSB: Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

PRAYER JOURNALING AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS

1 Prayer journal anything that comes to mind.

2 What are the key verses or the ones that jump out most at you? Identify all of them.

3 List why each of the verses you listed in #2 jumped out at you.

4 What is a verse from this chapter you want to focus on today—morning, noon, and night?

MEMORY VERSES

Don’t forget your yearly Bible verse or your memory verses. Pray them back to God at this time, whether by memory or by looking at them. They are: Philippians 4:4-8; Psalm 90:12; 1 Samuel 2:1; Colossians 3:23-24; Ephesians 5:1-2. 

Day 21: A Review Day

TIME

I will be honest and upfront here. A Review Day is best spent all day and night long. It’s best as a retreat where we can spend as much time as possible in the review, so we can savor it fully.

I’ll confess. I’ve been known to spend more than one day on a Review Day. In fact, more often than not, I devote several days (two days to seven days) in order to do the best review. If you are doing this on your own, you might consider doing the same. After all, no one ever said you have to finish this in 40 days. The only concrete must, and requirement for this Devotional Bible Study, is to do this study every single day for forty days at the minimum.

But, do what you can today and in the future. It’s okay to return to all of this after you finish Day 40 and do more of a review at that time and as time allows. Also, review this study, and your prayer journal of it, every year or more. Again, the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it.

RE-READ DAY 1.

Re-read Day 1 and the parable. Prayer journal anything that comes to mind. Then, in your prayer journal, answer this: How am I coloring each moment and each day of my life? How have I colored each day over the last week? Then, write day 8, day 9, etc. and say how you’ve colored that day. Was it a dark one? An invisible one? Bright? Full of experiences and memories, so really bright and colorful, regardless of whether the moments were good ones or bad?

RE-READ REVIEW DAY 7’S REVIEW AND PRAYER JOURNALING

Then, re-read your Review Day Prayer Journaling, and I mean all of it, you did for your Day 7’s review.

Things to prayer journal and contemplate as you re-read day 7 review and prayer journaling both:

Instruction: Make sure to answer each question below for each word, sentence, paragraph, page, AND day that jumps out at you from your day 7 text and your prayer journaling from day 7.

What jumps out at you? Why does it jump out at you?

What questions do you have?

How does this inspire and motivate you?

What does this mean to you and your life?

How can you apply this to your life—starting today? Write out an action plan to apply this to your life.

Why is this important to me to remember?

What am I saying to God?

What is God saying to me?

Take your time and be through as you re-read and prayer journal.

RE-READ REVIEW DAY 14’S REVIEW AND PRAYER JOURNALING

Then, re-read your Review Day Prayer Journaling, and I mean all of it, you did for Day 14’s review.

Things to prayer journal and contemplate as you re-read day 7 review and prayer journaling both:

Instruction: Make sure to answer each question below for each word, sentence, paragraph, page, AND day that jumps out at you from your day 7 text and your prayer journaling from day 7.

What jumps out at you? Why does it jump out at you?

What questions do you have?

How does this inspire and motivate you?

What does this mean to you and your life?

How can you apply this to your life—starting today? Write out an action plan to apply this to your life.

Why is this important to me to remember?

What am I saying to God?

What is God saying to me?

Take your time and be through as you re-read and prayer journal.

RE-READ DAYS 15-20.

Re-read Days 15-20 and as you do, prayer journal about anything that jumps out at you, even in you prayer journaled about it before. What you write this time will be different than what you wrote last time, even if you write down something again. (The key is to notice those differences when you re-read your prayer journal.)

Things to prayer journal and contemplate as you re-read days 15-20:

Instruction: Make sure to answer each question below for each word, sentence, paragraph, page, AND day that jumps out at you from your daily readings.

What jumps out at you? Why does it jump out at you?

What questions do you have?

How does this inspire and motivate you?

What does this mean to you and your life?

How can you apply this to your life—starting today? Write out an action plan to apply this to your life.

Why is this important to me to remember?

What am I saying to God?

What is God saying to me?

Take your time and be through as you re-read and prayer journal.

RE-READ YOUR PRAYER JOURNAL DAYS 15-20

Re-read everything in your prayer journal, including things you wrote today. And, as you do prayer journal about anything that jumps out at you. As you do, prayer journal all of the questions below for everything you write in your prayer journal:

Things to prayer journal and contemplate as you re-read:

Instruction: Make sure to answer each question below for each word, sentence, paragraph, page, AND day that jumps out at you from your prayer journal.

What jumps out at you? Why does it jump out at you?

What questions do you have?

How does this inspire and motivate you?

What does this mean to you and your life?

How can you apply this to your life—starting today? Write out an action plan to apply this to your life.

Why is this important to me to remember?

What am I saying to God?

What is God saying to me?

Take your time and be through as you re-read and prayer journal.

BIBLE VERSES

What are the top seven Bible verses that spoke to you the most this week? Write them, word for word, in your payer journal and answer the following:

Things to prayer journal and contemplate as you re-read:

Instruction: Make sure to answer each question below for each of the seven verses.

What jumps out at you? Why does it jump out at you?

What questions do you have?

How does this inspire and motivate you?

What does this mean to you and your life?

How can you apply this to your life—starting today? Write out an action plan to apply this to your life.

Why is this important to me to remember?

What am I saying to God?

What is God saying to me?

Take your time and be through as you re-read and prayer journal.

MEMORY VERSES

Practice your memory verses and prayer journal about them. What is God saying through them? What can you apply to your life and how? What are you saying to God?

SUMMARY

Now, write a summary for everything you’ve prayer journaled today. The longer a summary you write, the better. After all, once again, the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.

PRAYER

Write out a prayer to God about the last six days, plus today. Make it a lengthy prayer. Pour out your heart to Him. Then, listen to Him for an hour or more after you finish saying your prayer.

Make sure to prayer journal all of this. Prayer journal your prayer and everything He says to you. 

Day 20: Selah

SELAH. PAUSE.

Selah. Pause.

Do not press forward for a moment.

Savor the moment instead.

Listen to God and stop speaking.

Pause. Rest.

Do this all day long. Focus on listening to God and being with God.

A good practice is to do this once a week. This is what a Sabbath is, after all. So, rest in Him and in the Word. 

Day 19: Ephesians 5:1-2

Ephesians 5:1-2 (HCSB)

1 Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. 2 And walk in love, as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.

-- HCSB: Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Prayer journal your thoughts before you continue reading. Take some time and pause here. How can you live these verses this year?

Spend all day reading and re-reading this passage.

Add these verses to your memory verse list of: Philippians 4:4-8; Psalm 90:12; 1 Samuel 2:1; Colossians 3:23-24; Ephesians 5:1-2

Day 18: Day 17: Keeping Our Priorities Straight and in Order, Part 3

THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING OUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT AND KEEPING THEM THE PRIORITY

You have your priorities and they are in sequential order at this point. This is a major start that few have accomplished. Case and point: Those who say they are too busy. If we are too busy, we are not keeping our priorities. Keeping our priorities straight keeps us from being far less busy and we are then more focused.

If we are tired, again, we have not kept our priorities straight.

If we haven’t been in the Bible and in prayer each and every day, have we kept our priorities straight?

Do you feel stressed or anxious? Irritable or frustrated? Are you really keeping your priorities straight.

Believe it or not, but any negative reaction we experience has a direct correlation to keeping our priorities straight. It really is this simple.

How can I say the previous paragraph? Philippians 4:8 explains the answer in particular, but so does Philippians 4:4-8. So, do the other memory verses we have been memorizing. If we are Christian, then all of our number one priorities should be God and the Bible. Period. End of story. Any questions? Living those things is living with God and the Bible as our number one priority. If we do that, then we will live our memory verses, among all the other verses of the Bible, the New Testament in particular.

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT?

One, make sure your husband, children, family, and friends know your priorities. This is important because they will be less likely to rope you into things that don’t meet with your priorities.

Two, make sure that if someone ever asks you to do something, you remember your priorities. Does this fit any of those? If not, don’t do it. It’s okay to say know. You do not have to say yes to everything. Also, you never owe anyone an explanation. It’s okay to just say no.

Three, if you’re thinking of doing something, is it one of your priorities? If not, spend little time on it or don’t do it at all.

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT?: PUT THEM ON YOUR CALENDAR

First of all, put them on your calendar.

In fact, put it all on your calendar.

I recommend using a digital or internet based computer because it’s far easier to change if you need to, like if your work schedule changes. If you handwrite it, you’ll need to do a lot of writing and re-writing. Save yourself the hassle and put it on an internet based computer. Not just that, you will never lose the calendar if you have it on the internet and on the cloud. Then, you can access it anywhere in the world.

If you do something today that isn’t on your calendar, add it. But, first, make sure that it is one of your priorities and that you are keeping your priorities in the proper order.

Go ahead. Put your priorities on your calendar now. Do it now and do it for the next year. Yep. You heard me. The next year. Put down your daily quiet time(s). Put your work schedule on it. Put in times of exercise. Put all the others on your calendar as well.

Then, every month from this point on, add another four months until you are to the point you are ten years into the future. I’m not kidding. 

Day 17: Keeping Our Priorities Straight and in Order, Part 2

Yesterday, we spent the day trying to identify everything and everyone important in our lives through making a list.

Now, today, we will take a look at that list and assess our proper priorities and what to do with them.

SEQUENTIAL ORDER

Yesterday, you made a list of everything and everyone important to you. Today, in your prayer journal, number them in sequential order. Wait to do this until you read the rest of this section. I will let you know when to begin.

It’s important to put on the page what is important to you and get it all there in front of you, in writing, where you can see it and analyze it. For instance, here is mine:

1 God

2 Hubby and marriage

3 Health: Exercise and eating right

4 Home

5 Writing (which is my job and passion)

6 Critters/4-legged kids

7 Reading

8 USA, politics, current events, and history

9 Family

10 Friends

A great deal of things, events, and people come under those 10 categories. But, everything and everyone important to me is listed there.

You may be surprised how family and friends come at the bottom of my list. They do. Let me explain before you start rushing to judgment.

My priorities, I put in sequential order, based off of what is most important to me each and every day. In other words, what has direct impact on my life today?

Do my family or friends live with me? Do they pay my bills? Do they work for me and make me money? No. They do not. So, they do not have a direct impact on my life each and every day. That being said, if one of them has a health problem or a life challenge, then my priorities today would change, wouldn’t they? Of course they would. But, it’s not a permanent change to the sequence and priority order of my life’s priorities. It’s something temporary (the health issue or life challenge, that is). That’s different.

Also, know where my job is on the list. It’s number five on the list. It’s not one of my top three. Why would I say that? Easy. Again, is my job the most important thing on a day in, day out, for all 80 years of my life basis? No. I can always get another job. But, my job does not crawl into bed with me each night or greet me with a hug and kiss when I get home, so to speak. My job isn’t there during the tough times. My job is my job. It does not offer me eternal life and it didn’t choose me. I chose it.

Also, if I had a child, and I still hope to soon. Then, my child would become number four on my list and all others from there would move down my priority list. Let me explain.

A child is never number one, because only God and my faith takes that slot. Period. That never changes. No matter what.

A child never comes before my husband. Will that child bring me an income and pay my bills? Will that child sleep with me? Will that child not leave the house? Who makes decisions with me? My child does not. My husband is the one who makes money, pays bills, chose me, and will be there when the child leaves the house. I chose him and he chose me. That’s why my husband comes before a child.

Why would health come before a child? If I’m sick and can’t take care of myself, how can I take care of a child? I have nothing to offer a child if I do not take care of myself. Also, if I do not model for my child how to be healthy inside and out, then what a tragedy that would be.

I hope all of that makes sense.

So, make sure when you put your matters of importance in order, you think seriously of the ramifications of the order in which you place each item. It’s very important.

Also, note, how I kept my priorities simple. I put them in categories and in groupings as well and that helps.

My entire life is summarized in these 10 priorities.

PRAYER JOURNALING QUESTION

Put your priorities in order. In other words, put them in sequential order of importance.

REVIEW YOUR MEMORY VERSES

Write them in your prayer journal without peeking. No cheating. See how far you get. Then, after a couple of minutes of trying to find the words, then peek and write out the rest and make corrections as necessary.

Then, prayer journal your thoughts today, right now, on those verses.

They are: Philippians 4:4-8; Psalm 90:12; 1 Samuel 2:1; Colossians 3:23-24

Day 16: Keeping Our Priorities Straight and in Order, Part 1

HOW CAN WE LIVE THE BEST LIFE AND THE BEST YEAR FROM THIS POINT ON?

How can we live the best life possible for the next year and for the rest of our lives? Isn’t this the main question we’ve been trying to answer the last 16 days? And, isn’t this the question we’ll continue asking over the next 24 days?

The answer to all of the previous questions is: Yes.

So, what does that look like in reality and in practice? How can we live the best life possible?

The answer is simple: Keep our priorities straight. In other words, keep our priorities the priority.

There. That’s it. Any questions?

Well, it really is that simple. But, how do we put it into practice?

PRAYER JOURNALING QUESTION

Make a list of everything and everyone important to you. Spend all of today, throughout the day, writing that list. Make sure you include everything on it. Be thorough.

MEMORY VERSES

A Little Reminder…

Don’t forget your yearly Bible verse or your memory verses. Pray them back to God at this time, whether by memory or by looking at them. 

Day 15: Colossians 3:23: MEDIOCRE LIVING AND THE GOOD ENOUGH MENTALITY

I am afraid there are too many of us who settle for mediocre living or doing life “just good enough.” We do not give our best to all we do.

We’re tired.

We’re too busy.

We just have the time.

We’re… Fill in the blank with a million other excuses.

This includes how we do in school, at work, in our marriage, raising children, with housework, etc. We just aren’t giving it our all.

Then, we stop and wonder why we aren’t happy. We feel like we’re missing something. It seems like no matter what we do, it just isn’t enough.

But, when was the last time we spent all day and night in the Word and in prayer? Or, were we too busy, too tired, lack the time, etc.

I guarantee if you live in the world today, you’ve been here done that. It might even be commonplace for you. I know it sure has been for me.

Why are we allowing ourselves to live these excuses? Why are we allowing ourselves to have a mediocre, good enough existence? Why are we not keep our priorities the priority?

And, then, how dare we be foolish to wonder why we aren’t happy, joyful, peaceful, fill in the blank. We are missing something. We are missing God and the Word. Again, we are meant to be in the Bible morning, noon, and night, 24/7/365. Look again at Psalm 1:2. And, we are to always be in prayer as well, rejoicing, and giving thanks. Look at this passage:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 HCSB

16 Rejoice always!

17 Pray constantly.

18 Give thanks in everything,

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

-- HCSB: Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Why do we forget all of this? If we actually lived Psalm 1:2 and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, wouldn’t our lives be a great deal easier, better, fulfilled, and complete? Wouldn’t we be happy, joyful, peaceful, and content?

If we stopped saying mediocre and good enough living was good enough, then we would see how little our lives really were, how shallow, and how they lacked meaning.

According to God, this kind of living is not good enough.

But, we know that, don’t we? Come on. We do. We just try to deny it or ignore it. After all, we’re too tired, busy, too… Fill in the blank…

We know there is a better way to live. So, why aren’t we living that way? I think there are two main reasons. One is we forget why we are living and why mediocre, good enough living isn’t enough. But, it’s also because we don’t keep our priorities straight or in order. We’ll talk about the latter tomorrow.

Why is mediocre, good enough living not good enough? Let’s look at the following verse to answer that question:

Colossians 3:23-25 NASB

23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

-- NASB: Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

PRAYER JOURNALING AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS

Let’s look at some verses which should help us know what to pray and how to pray for the next year and our new beginning. With each verse listed after this section, prayer journal these 7 things about EACH version of this verse:

1 What jumped out at you and why?

2 What did you learn from this verse?

3 How did this verse differ from the others and how does that difference deepen your understanding of the verse?

4 What did God say to you through this verse?

5 What does this verse mean to you and your life today, this week, this month, this quarter, this year, etc.?

6 How will you apply this verse to your life from now on? Make an action plan.

7 Write out a summary of everything that you’ve learned and what jumps out at you most from your journaling and from the different versions of this verse, Psalm 90:12.

Colossians 3:23-24 NLT

23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.

-- NLT: Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Prayer journal the seven steps listed earlier.

Colossians 3:23-24 NCV

23 In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people. 24 Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, which he promised to his people. You are serving the Lord Christ.

-- NCV: Scripture taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Prayer journal the seven steps listed earlier.

Colossians 3:23-24 HCSB

23 Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.

-- HCSB: Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Prayer journal the seven steps listed earlier.

Colossians 3:23-24 GW

23 Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly as though you were working for your real master and not merely for humans. 24 You know that your real master will give you an inheritance as your reward. It is Christ, your real master, whom you are serving.

-- GW: Scripture is taken from GOD’S WORD®, © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group.

Prayer journal the seven steps listed earlier.

Colossians 3:23-24 NKJV

23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

-- NKJV: Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Prayer journal the seven steps listed earlier.

Colossians 3:23-24 EXB

23 In all the work you are doing, ·work the best you can [do it heart and soul; L from the soul]. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people. 24 ·Remember [L …knowing] that you will receive from the Lord the reward ·which he promised to his people [L of an inheritance]. You are serving the Lord Christ.

-- EXB: Scripture taken from The Expanded Bible. Copyright © 2011 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Prayer journal the seven steps listed earlier.

MEMORY VERSES

Don’t forget your yearly Bible verse or your memory verses. Pray them back to God at this time, whether by memory or by looking at them.

Add this (Colossians 3:23-24)  to your memory verses. Find your favorite version. So, we now have: Philippians 4:4-8; Psalm 90:12; 1 Samuel 2:1; and Colossians 3:23-24.

Prayer journal each of them at this time, without looking. See how far you get with each. Then, try again with the ones you didn’t finish. Then, peek if you need and write them out again.

PRAYER JOURNALING AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS

1 How have you lived a mediocre life or lifestyle?

2 When was the last time you lived in that manner?

3 When was the last time you said, “Good enough” about something?

4 What is wrong with each of 1-3?

5 How can you stop living a mediocre, good enough life?

6 What does Colossians 3:23-24 say and how can they help with number 5 above?

7 Write a prayer to God.

SELAH. PAUSE.

Selah. Pause.

Do not press forward for a moment.

Savor the moment instead.

Listen to God and stop speaking.

Pause. Rest.