Daily Readings at Southeast

  Step 2: Live It A guy named St. Francis is often quoted as saying, “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” This doesn’t mean you should put on white and black makeup and mime out Jesus dying on the cross. Don’t do that! This doesn’t mean choreography and interpretative dance that communicates what Jesus did for us—unless you think it could get you on “So You Think You Can Dance.” But still, it's probably not the best way to do it. What this is saying is that you should live your life like Christ so that you don’t need to use words to tell people you’re a Christian. You just live it out. Others see it in your life. People can tell there’s something different about you. When you really know what you believe, why you believe it, and then become passionate about it, it will cause you to live that out naturally. And when you live your life fully for God, your whole life will constantly point others to Him. Scripture: James 1:22

Step 1: Know It Do you really know what you believe and why you believe it? Have you ever heard someone use the term “Gospel” or “Gospel Message”? Today’s reading in Romans mentions it. Maybe the translation you read talked about "Good News." But what does that even mean? What are you supposed to say if someone asks you about the Gospel, or what's so good about the Good News? Are you supposed to use that phrase if you're trying to share your faith? Don't worry. Sharing your faith doesn't mean you have to use certain words. It's not so much about what you know as it is about who you know. You see, to be a Christian means to live like Christ, but to live like Christ, we need to know how He lived. As Christians, it's important to know and understand who Jesus is, how He lived His life, and what He did on the cross. If we don’t get it, we can’t live it. Get to know what you believe and why you believe it so that you can live it out and share it with others...

  Do What? Okay, it’s true you just read these verses from Matthew yesterday, but we’re going to look at a different part of them today. This passage is called “The Great Commission.” Sounds so important, doesn’t it? But as Christians, this is what Jesus tells us to do with our lives. As you are going, make disciples. What the heck does the rest of this passage mean? What does it mean to make disciples? We’re supposed to baptize them? So, like, carry around some water and sprinkle it on people shouting, “BAM! You’re baptized?” Better yet, maybe just carry around a super soaker full of holy water. You can call it “The Super Soaker of Salvation” or something like that. Maybe don’t do any of that. But we should be making disciples as we're going. A disciple is someone who follows another person’s way of life and teaching. So, if you want to make disciples, live your life different from other people-like Jesus did. In fact, live your life following God like Jesus did, and let...

  Just Do It (Um … not the Nike slogan.) If you read today’s verse from Matthew in its original language, it starts off “As you are going ...” What this means for us is as you’re living your life ,  you should be sharing your faith with others. You don’t have to stand on a street corner shouting at people that they’re going to hell. Jesus didn’t do that, so you don’t have to either. Just live your life and be intentional about sharing what God’s done for you. Let’s say you play football—maybe you hate football—but for this example, you play football. Would people say you’re a football player who happens to be a Christian or a Christian who happens to play football? See the difference? Are you a Christian first or the other way around? As you’re going out and doing the things you do, be a Christian first, and let people see it. Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20

  Self-Centered or Christ-Centered? Are you living your life for yourself, or are you living your life to please God? Seriously, answer that question, and be honest. Maybe this can help you figure it out. Self-centered people want the attention on them. They care more about themselves than others. They go after what makes them happy. Christ-centered people want God to get the glory and attention. They care more about helping others than themselves. They want to do things they know will make God happy. Self-centered people don’t share. So, to share your faith well, you need to become Christ-centered. This is where you need to start. Ask yourself, “Am I self-centered or Christ-centered?” If you’re self-centered, are you willing to change that up and become Christ-centered? Answer out loud right now. Yes or no? Say it. Okay. The rest of this Bible Plan is for those who say, “Yes, I want to be Christ-centered.” Now we can start to look at what it takes to share your faith. Scripture: J...

  To Continue To Love, You Need To Refuel “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”  1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT) Love can be absolutely exhausting. Don’t let anyone fool you. The kind of love that makes a difference in this world can really drain you. Sometimes you just don’t feel like you have any more love to give. Maybe you’re in a people-intensive job, such as teaching, sales, or customer service, and you come home and think, “I just can’t face another need, another problem, or another heartache.” So you shut down. Or you need to show love to a particular person who is demanding, acts selfishly, and never returns your love. And you just think to yourself, “I’m done. No more.” While that’s a perfectly natural and entirely human response, it’s not the standard of love God calls us to in the Bible. The Bible says,  “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance”...

  Understanding God’s Definition of Love “Love means doing what God has commanded us.”  2 John 1:6 (NLT) The Bible says love needs to be central to our lives, so let’s take a few moments to consider what love really is. 1. The Bible says love is a command. God commands that we love each other:  “Love means doing what God has commanded us”  (2 John 1:6 NLT). Love is not a feeling. You can’t always control an emotion and God would never command you to do something that he doesn’t give you the power and the ability to do. Imagine seeing a little kid who’s crying and upset, and saying, “I command you to be happy!” You simply can’t command someone to feel a certain way. 2. The Bible says love is a choice. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 14:1,  “Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does”  (MSG). If you “go after” something, that means you make a choice. Love is a choice. We choose to love or not to love. But acting in love when you do...

  Becoming a Kinder Person “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out all fear.”  1 John 4:18 (ESV) The parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 teaches two profound lessons about kindness. If you genuinely want to become a kinder person, you must be willing to do two things: 1. You must be willing to be interrupted.  Kindness doesn’t happen on your schedule. It happens on others’ schedules. At a moment’s notice, you’ve got to be willing to drop everything and stop. Love is often inconvenient, and kindness takes time. 2. You must be willing to take risks.  Many times, your own fears can keep you from being kind. How many times have you not helped somebody because you thought, “I don’t know what to say”? One big fear we don’t often mention is this: Getting involved in someone else’s pain reminds us of our own brokenness. We’re afraid to deal with others’ pain, because then ours might bubble out. But we’ll never learn to truly show kindness until we move pas...

  Come to God Just as You Are “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”  Romans 5:8 (NLT) Everything that Jesus did for you, he did out of love. The Bible says that God made you to love you. The only reason you’re alive is because you were made to be loved by God. God didn’t just say he loved you; he showed it. The Bible says,  “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners”  (Romans 5:8 NLT). It says while you and I “ were still sinners .” Before I knew God or even knew I needed God in my life, Jesus died for me—and for you. There’s a myth that says you have to clean up your act before you can come to God. No! God wants you to come to him just as you are, however you are. He wants you to come to him with your problems—the good, the bad, and the ugly. The Bible says,  “He will send down help from heaven to save me because of his love”  (Psalm 57:3 TLB). That...

  Respond to Evil With Good “Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”  Luke 6:27-28 (NIV) The Bible says in Luke 6:27-28,  “Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you”  (NIV). Notice these three verbs: “ do  good to those,” “ bless  those,” and “ pray  for those.” A big part of forgiveness is responding to evil with good. How do you know when you’ve genuinely forgiven somebody? You can pray for God to bless that person. When you learn to forgive, you not only see your own hurt, but you see their hurt, too. Then you start to understand why they acted in such evil, selfish, hurtful, or abusive ways. The truth is, hurt people hurt people. You say, “But you don’t know how they’ve hurt me.” No, I don’t. And I’m sorry for every hurt you’ve experienced. But I do know this: You’re never going to get on with your life unless you forgive and let it go. That doesn’t ...