Week 17, Day One

Representing Jesus

Your life has been changed by God. Most people are not spending time today reading the Bible and asking God to lead them, but you are. In fact, you have spent more time in the Bible the past few months than many people do their entire life. You are learning more and more about the God who made you and is changing you.

As a follower of Christ, you are His ambassador, His representative to the world. Every day, your life paints a picture of Jesus for the world to see. Your words, attitudes and actions either paint a clear and accurate picture of Jesus that draws people to Jesus or your life will paint a lie that could push people away. If you are going to represent Him well, you’ve got to know Him well.

Study 2 Corinthians 5:14-21.

Include the following in your personal prayer time:

• Ask God to use you in the lives of those around you.
• Commit to make His name famous.
• My family Monday…

FOR FURTHER STUDY: Ephesians 6:19-20

 

Week Seventeen, Day Two

What You Were Meant to Do

Though every follower of Christ is an ambassador, you are not an ambassador to every person on the earth, doing every ministry on earth. Each Christian is assigned his or her own ministry and ministry zone. Usually, that ministry zone is the place where you now live and breathe, and your focus is the people who are already a part of your life. Sometimes, though, God assigns you a ministry outside of your normal routine of life. Either way, God has given you a specific set of gifts, talents, and abilities to do the ministry that He has given you to do.

People sometimes make ministry sound like a mysterious or prestigious pursuit. But, ministry to others is nothing more than giving God’s love to others as He gives you the opportunity. True ministry is not fancy and flashy and it rarely gets your name in the paper, but it is real and eternal and more worthwhile than anything else you will ever do.

As ministers, we serve according to God’s will and rely on His power to guide us at the right time. His power brings results in the lives of other people. Ministry is allowing God to use your life in their life for His glory. When you understand that simple truth, you stop being focused on yourself as you care for other people.

Study 2 Corinthians 3:1-6, 4:1-7.

Include the following in your personal prayer time:

• Ask God to give you a vision for your personal ministry zone.
• Commit to rely on God’s power alone in ministry so that you don’t get too proud of yourself.
• Your Church…

FOR FURTHER STUDY: Acts 16:6-10

 

 

Week Seventeen, Day Three

“I don’t know what God wants me to be when I grow up, but I know that He wants me to obey Him. Right now, that means being a good example where I am in the way I talk and act and the way I am with my parents and teachers.”

Josh, middle school student

Running Your Race

As followers of Christ, we all have a race to run (a life to live) that has been laid out for us by our Heavenly Father. Each and every step in your race is an act of obedience, taking you one step closer to God and one step further away from self. Disobedience causes you to fall behind in reaching your goal, maybe even taking you off course, which is a scary and lonely place to be in life.

Though we are all trying to live a life of obedience that will please God, each runner’s course is unique. Each life is made up of specific events, tasks, and ministry goals chosen by God for that specific runner. No person’s life looks exactly like anyone else’s life. When we understand this fact, it keeps us from getting jealous of each other or competing with each other. Instead we want to help each other along instead of knocking each other down.

Study 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.

Include the following in your personal prayer time:

• Ask God to give you an intense desire to complete the race that He has laid out for you in a way that pleases Him.
• Commit to stay the course God laid out for you, no matter the cost.
• My Witness Wednesday…

FOR FURTHER STUDY: Acts 20:17-24

 

 

Week Seventeen, Day Four

Keeping Your Focus

As a follower of Christ, an ambassador and a minister, you play an important role in God’s plan to redeem the world to Himself. You are a part of something much larger than yourself. While it’s easy to get caught up in your own race (life) and become preoccupied with each and every little step you take, it’s important that you keep your eyes on the bigger picture – the goal.

Runners who watch their own feet fall because it is difficult to keep your balance with your head down. However, those who keep their eyes trained ahead are more aware of what’s going on and they meet the challenges ahead with more confidence. Don’t become a self-absorbed runner, always focused on you, how hard you are working or how well you are doing. Instead, be grateful for the chance to simply run and live a life that really counts for something.

Study Hebrews 12:1-3, 12-15.

Include the following in your personal prayer time:

• Thank God for the example of those who have finished the race in a way worth imitating. Thank God specifically for some older adults at your church who have lived with Jesus for years and are setting a good example of finishing well.
• Commit to run your race with your eyes locked in on Jesus, not on yourself.
• Thirsty Thursday…

FOR FURTHER STUDY: 2 Timothy 4:6-10

 

 

Week Seventeen, Day Five

Jumping Hurdles

Study 2 Corinthians 4 and Ephesians 6:10-20.

Include the following in your personal prayer time:

• Thank God for equipping you with all that you will ever need to run your race successfully.
• Ask God for the will and the strength to stay focused and to meet challenges in His strength, not yours, so that you can stay the course.
• Friends Friday…

FOR FURTHER STUDY: Galatians 5:7-10

 

The Weekend

Suggested Reading: Exodus 2-4

This is just the part of the story of Moses. As you read, pay close attention to the unusual path that Moses’ life took, especially at the beginning. Note, too, how each and every event in his life prepared him for a special task that God planned for him to complete later in his life. If anyone ever openly acted as God’s ambassador, it was Moses…right in his hometown, too!

New memory verse next week! Are you ready?