DAY 1 – JUNE 28
“HOW THEN SHOULD WE LIVE?”
TITLE: “THE CONTINUING DEBT”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8
Someone once observed, “The only reason a great many American families don't own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments.” This observation points to the reality that many Americans have been caught up in a lifestyle of debt. Finance expert Dave Ramsey observes that the concept that debt is a tool and should be used to help create prosperity is a myth. Dave Ramsey concludes that “debt is dumb.” According to a USA Today article about debt, 78% of the Baby Boomers have mortgage debt, 59% have credit card debt, and 56% have car payments. Ramsey states that it takes a lot of will, discipline, courage, and help to slay the debt monster, but it can be done. With God’s help, all things are possible, including dealing with the issue of debt. “Let no debt remain outstanding.”
This passage also points out that there is one debt that we will always owe. This one exception is a debt we can never get rid of. This is the debt of love. From our recent study of the Ten Commandments, it is easy to put this verse into context. The Ten Commandments are all about our relationship with God and our relationship with others. It takes love to fulfill the Ten Commandments, and thus, the law. Without love, the law cannot be fulfilled. Thus, love is to be a constant in our lives. All that we say and do in our relationship with others should flow out of love.
John has a lot to say about loving God and others in his first letter. There he states, “This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.” I John 3:11. It has often been said that one should do the right thing. Scripture makes it clear that the right thing is to love one another. This significant message of loving one another has been given by Jesus Himself. He said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35. Jesus demonstrated and modeled this agape, self-sacrificing, giving love we are to have for one another.
Loving one another is to be the hallmark of followers of Jesus. It is a debt that we will always owe. Love is to be the identifying mark of the followers of Jesus. Loving one another is not an option or just a suggestion, for it is a command for His followers. Jesus said, “My command is this: “Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:12. The passion of Jesus is that we love each other. It is a debt we will always owe, for loving one another is to be the lifestyle of every follower of Jesus. Today provides an opportunity for you to pay on your debt by loving one another.
DAY 2 – JUNE 29
“HOW THEN SHOULD WE LIVE?”
TITLE: “LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “The commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not covet,’ and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Romans 13:9.
I love the word ‘simplicity’. In a world of complexities and filled up schedules, the word ‘simplicity’ brings hope and direction. In this verse, Paul simplifies the Ten Commandments by summing them up into one simple rule for life. That rule is simply, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Since the last six of the Ten Commandments speaks directly to our relationships with others, the command to love your neighbor as yourself fulfills each of those commandments. Love for our neighbor keeps us from causing hurt or harm to them.
Someone said, “Love is a word that is thrown around more than a football at the Super Bowl.” Love has been defined by a variety of people in a variety of ways. Some years ago, someone put together an article titled, “What is Love,” from a kid's point of view. In the article, several different children defined love like this:
· "When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis, too. That's love."
· "When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth."
· "Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is okay."
· "Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas, if you stop opening presents and listen."
· "Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
· "You really shouldn't say, 'I love you,' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? John wrote, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” I John 3:16. John makes it clear that Jesus is one who truly defines love. Jesus shows us what love is. The actions of Jesus demonstrate the sacrificial element in authentic agape love. Jesus shows us that true love is concrete and active, not merely feelings or thoughts, but something to be lived out in our actions. Love is a personal commitment to give oneself to foster the highest good and well-being of others. Will you live by the rule, “Love your neighbor as yourself” today?
DAY 3 – JUNE 30
“HOW THEN SHOULD WE LIVE?”
TITLE: “THE HOUR HAS COME”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” Romans 13:11
Preacher, David Dykes wrote, “I heard about a group of guys who use to play dominoes at night. His wife warned, ‘Don’t stay out past midnight.’ They happened to be playing dominoes in the house of a man who repaired old grandfather clocks. This guy who was anxious about going home kept counting the chimes of a grandfather clock the man was repairing. Late in the evening, he started counting the chimes, ‘one, two, three, four,’ all the way to ‘ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen’ chimes. The guy jumped up and headed for the door. They said, ‘Man, where are you going?’ He said, ‘I’ve got to get home. It has never been this late before.’”
There is urgency in this writing of Paul’s. There is no more time to waste. The alarm clock has sounded and now is the time to be awake to the opportunities that are before us. It is time for the people of God to wake up and be alert to what is taking place spiritually. The imagery of slumber is common in the writings of Paul. In his letter to the Thessalonians, he said, “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” I Thessalonians 5:6-8.
Paul’s message is that it is time to awaken from the slumber of indifference, complacency, and slothfulness. Paul is calling us to awaken from spiritual unconsciousness, unresponsiveness, and inactivity concerning the things of God.
There is urgency, for there is still time to do the work of the Lord. Everyday, we are presented with another 86,400 seconds. Will you spend it wisely? Don’t spend the time you have in spiritual slumber. Awaken to the opportunities God has for you today. Live with urgency and seize the day God has given you for His glory. Wake up O soul, the hour has come. It is time to put an end to spiritual slumber.
DAY 4 – JULY 1
“HOW THEN SHOULD WE LIVE?”
TITLE: “PUT AWAY THE DEEDS OF DARKNESS”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Romans 13:12
In the Old Testament, there is an interesting encounter that
takes place between Joab and Absalom, the son of King David. Joab had
interceded to the king on the behalf of Absalom, asking to bring him back to
In this writing of Paul, the call for action cannot be ignored. The deeds of darkness are to be put aside. The bottom line is that sin is serious and we must get serious about sin. Don’t allow yourself to think lightly about sin. Paul makes it clear that it is time to stop messing around with the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Listen to the call of action Paul gave the Ephesians. He said, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” Ephesians 5:8-11.
God sets a high standard for His people. Paul is calling us to deal with sinful behavior that falls below the standards God has for our lives and our homes. The deeds of darkness are not proper for God’s holy people. Don’t allow the deeds of darkness to pollute your life. God has called us to be done with deeds of darkness. Peter reminds us, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
I Peter 2:9.
Dr. Ralph Sockman wrote about an experience he had while
standing on the edge of
Don’t see how close you can get to the deeds of the darkness. Put away the deeds of darkness.
DAY 5 – JULY 2
“HOW THEN SHOULD WE LIVE?”
TITLE: “CLOTHE YOURSELVES WITH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” Romans 13:14
As a father, I remember some time back when Amanda, our daughter needed some clothes. After purchasing some new things, I noticed that she was not wearing one of the new items very often. She commented that she did not like it as much now as when she had purchased it. Charles Dickens in Great Expectations said, “Probably every new and eagerly expected garment ever put on since clothes came in fell a trifle short of the wearer's expectation.”
Clothes can often let us down. However, there is one who will never let us down. Christ will always be more than we could ever expect Him to be. Paul calls us to clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul wants us to know there is an alternative to wearing the actions of the world and improper behavior. The people of God were to abandon the wardrobe of their pre-Christian lives and put on Christ. Faith requires a deliberate choice of spiritual wardrobe. Putting on Christ is an act of the will. To put on Christ is the deliberate, conscious acceptance of the Lordship of Christ so that all our motives, desires, and deeds are under His control.
To put on Christ is to enable Christ’s character to become our own. It means embracing Christ’s identity as our identity, His way as our way, His path as our path, His heart as our heart, His purpose as our purpose and His love as our love. To put on Christ is to be transformed by Christ. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” II Corinthians 5:17. Author, Neil Wiseman said, “His transforming grace changes us into people of love, mercy, and compassion. As the character of God is re-created in us, we find ourselves following Jesus into the middle of a broken world.”
Clothing oneself with the Lord
Jesus Christ requires taking a firm stance against the flesh. It is embracing
Christ through total surrender to Him and therefore, staying away from that
which is not Christ-like. From the top of our head to the bottom of our feet,
we are to be clothed with Christ. The Apostle Paul told the church in