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New and Exciting Interactive
Devotions
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I would like to invite you to do the following devotions. Each devotion is learning based with the goal of changing behavior. Since
adults learn best from their peers, please feel free to download these and share them with others. A small group setting that encourages
dialog is a perfect environment to achieve life changing results. I would love to hear how God uses these to change lives. Please
e-mail me and share what He does in your group.
PLEASE NOTE: If you copy and past this devotion, you must change the font color black in order to see it!
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July
21, 2008
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LOOK: “Much is required from those to whom much is given.” Luke 12:48 (NLT)
LEARN: The following, including the questions, is an excerpt from Dangerous Surrender by Kay Warren, wife of Pastor Rick Warren, author of Purpose Driven Life. I will be using some of her material from this book in the next few devo’s.
It’s very easy for us to remain aloof and untouched by the suffering that defines the existence of the vast majority of people on this planet. I have read that if you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead, and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of the people in this world. If you have any money in the bank and some in your wallet and some spare change in a dish somewhere, you are among the top 8 % of the world’s wealthy; 92% have less to live on than you do. If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million other people in the world. If you can attend worship services at church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed then three billion people in the world.
I don’t tell you this to make you feel guilty – but I do hope you feel uncomfortable. I hope these statistics disturb you. God in his sovereignty decided where you would be born and allowed you to live in a place that has almost everything anyone could ever desire, so there is no guilt that he has ordered our lives in such a way. The only guilt we bear is the guilt of ignoring the men, women and children of this world who do not have what we have – the guilt of spending the majority of our time, money and resources exclusively on ourselves and our families. That is legitimate guilt.
Let’s just say that something is beginning to stir in your soul as you read. What should you do about it? Where should you begin? What is God’s will for you and for the broken world you inhabit?
One thing I know for sure: God’s will begins with surrender.
LIVE: YOU’VE ONLY GOT ONE LIFE…GIVE IT UP!
1. Have you ever experienced God persistently working to direct your attention to some relationship, issue or cause? If so, describe a major turning point in your realization.
2. Consider two or three world problems that deeply trouble you. Do you believe you can have any significant impact on these problems? Why or why not?
3. When was the last time you initiated conversation on a ‘disturbing’ topic? Why do people avoid such conversations? Discuss how such conversation can be destructive or constructive?
4. According to Kay’s discussion above of the world’s wealthy, by her standards, are you wealthy? If so, do you concur with her assessment of
‘legitimate guilt’? Why or why not?
5. Write a prayer asking God to open your eyes to the realities about yourself and your world.
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Copyright by Ronda Sturgill 2008. All rights reserved.
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