Read: John 14:23-28, Deut. 8:2, Phil 1:11

Think: Henry Cloud, psychologist and author wrote, "Who a person is will ultimately determine if their brains, talents, competencies, energy, effort, deal-making abilities and opportunities will succeed." In his book Integrity, he says that every person leaves a wake behind them. Just like a boat moving through water, we create a wake in the industry, the family, the ministry that we are in. The wake is unavoidable- how that wake affects other people around us, is up to us.

Who we are really matters. It makes a difference to the people around us. Being as spiritually healthy as we can be should be the goal. How do we know if we are spiritually healthy? We look a little bit more like Christ every day. We humble ourselves like Him, we speak out against injustice like Him, we walk in truth, we serve others, we uphold the oppressed, and we bring people to the Father. We sacrifice, take risks, trust God, live in God's provision, run from sin, and show love. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father," (John 14:12). Jesus left us here to carry on His important work. Jesus left a wake of spiritual revolution and restoration behind Him, and it goes on for eternity. We get to follow along in that wake.

The picture of water skiing comes to mind- following His leading, we can ride His wake and invite others to do the same. Taking this analogy a little further, have you ever crashed and let go of the rope? The boat always comes back around to pick you up, right? Hopping back on, following God, tethering ourselves to Him, we get to share in His wake.

Do: Pick one area of your life that you would like to tweek or overhaul to be more like Christ today.

Pray:  God, you have given me important responsibilities and opportunities. You have given me purpose and significance. Help me to hear and follow Christ in tangible ways, so that the people in my sphere of influence will benefit from knowing me. Help me to grow in spiritual health and wholeness.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.

READ:  Proverbs 4:20-27, Hebrews 12:1-3

THINK: Max Ehrman, the poet once said, "if you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself." When thinking about leaving a legacy, we may be tempted to gage our value by comparing ourselves to other people. Sometimes, we look to the left, or to the right comparing our status and rank with others to see where we fall in the pecking order. This isn't the way God does things, but it is the way the world around us does things. Proverbs 4 says, "Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you."

God has called each of us to a specific purpose that only we can do. It is different than other people's purpose, and is supposed to look different too. We are accountable to God in fulfilling that purpose, as others are accountable to God in fulfilling theirs. We are gifted differently, with different responsibilities and personalities, and were created for a unique calling in the body of Christ and society at large. The Apostle Paul writes in Hebrews 12, "...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..."

When we compare ourselves to others, we take our eyes off of Jesus. We've taken our eyes of our path, our race, our calling. Our calling was designed just for us- it's the one we will be most successful at, the one we will enjoy the most, and the one from which we will derive the most meaning. Our calling is good. If you are a leader of people, a teacher of children, a seller of services, a giver of encouragement, a healer, an advocate or an organizer, your obedience to your unique calling is important. Keep your focus on what God has called you to do, and you will leave the legacy that you were meant to leave. And it will be good.

DO: Decide what keeps you from running your race as effectively as you would like to.

PRAY: God, help me to be satisfied with the calling you have given me, and not to compare myself with others. Help me to find significance in following you and what you have for me. Help me to keep my eyes on you, and to run the race marked out for me.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.

 Read: Hebrews 11:1-3

Think: When listening to Pastor Ben on Sunday, the Serenity Prayer really hit home on how impactful prayer can be in my life. I know that I am a sinner, I know that Christ died for my sins, and I know that I try every day to become a better Christian than the day before. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don't, but this prayer was great because it focused on why I became a Christian in the first place- brokenness. You can't come to Christ without having some feeling of surrender... surrendering your past life and wanting to start over as a born again Christian. Let's look at the prayer again:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference; living one day at a time; accepting hardships as a pathway to peace; taking as Jesus did this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next. ~Amen

--Reinhold Niebuhr

I love the fact that it speaks about serenity. I continually stumble with frustration, fear and anxiety over things I cannot change. That frustration, fear and anxiety can be the cause of my sin. I love the fact it speaks about Change and Wisdom – because in my daily walk with Christ, the more I change- the wiser I become. To live one day at a time talks about not worrying about tomorrow and realizing that everyone is going to face hardship which leads to being closer to the Lord. Let’s face it, if everything was easy- would we seek a relationship with Christ?It is great talking about surrendering it all for His will and not my own, leaving the big finish for last and asking to be “reasonably happy” here on earth and even happier in heaven. This was a eye-opener for me. I have always prayed for joy, comfort, happiness … never, “Somewhat Happy” or “Sorta Happy” and or like Niebuhr says “Reasonably Happy”.

Do: Reflect on the Serenity Prayer this week and try incorporating it into your life to see what God might have in store for you.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I pray that you shape me into the person you want me to become. Allow this prayer to draw me closer to you, to live a happier, more content life and surrender my fears and life over to you. Amen

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.

Read: Proverbs 29:25 John 12:43 Ephesians 6:19

Think:  Becoming a follower of Christ and living a Christ centered life as a high school student was tough for me. As a young teenager, I always admired the guy with the fast car, or the girl who was popular, or the kid who was awesome in sports. I wanted what they had. As an adult I am more inclined to admire people for their walk with God.

One thing I admire about fellow Christians is their ability to share Christ. As a Christian teenager, I was embarrassed to share my faith or even tell others that I was a Christian. Over time, I have become less worried about what others think and more willing to share my faith with others. However, sharing my faith still scares the heck out of me, especially when it is with my extended family. One verse that helps me with this is Proverbs 29:25, “The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted”. I don't want to be the guy that fears sharing his faith because he is looking for the approval of others.

So what happens if I am confronted as a Christian about my faith? Do I cower and hide or do I rise above my fear and allow the Lord to speak through me? Eph. 6:19 says, "Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike."

In today’s world, the fear of rejection is always there. I guess that is why I always feel so comfortable at Church. We are all on this journey together so I am not worried about what others are thinking of me. However, living and showing my faith outside of Church with that same level of comfort and trust is a work in progress!

Do: Watch for opportunities and ask God to help you share your faith with those closest to you (kids, wife/husband, parents, aunts/uncles, close friends, etc.) and slowly work your way out of your comfort zone to be able to share it with everyone. If you can do this with your friends/family- you can do it with the world.

Pray: Dear heavenly father, I pray today that you grant me the strength to share my faith with those whom you want to hear the Good News. Grant me the courage, the words and the compassion to say the right things and do your will in sharing my faith. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Read: James 3:2 ; Matthew 14:29-31; Proverbs 24:16; Romans 3:23

Think:I LOVE FAILING! When was the last time you heard this phrase come from a sane person? Have you ever walked into the book store to see the ‘self-help’ books stacked floor to ceiling on topics like: “How to become a billionaire at this” or “How I became a millionaire at that” or “How to become a better person by doing this” or “How to lose weight by taking that”?

The one thing these books don’t typically focus on is how many failures it took to make these people successful.

In listening to Sunday’s sermon, it dawned on me that one of the many reasons why I love the bible so much is that it tells the truth about those who have lived before us, their successes, and more importantly their failures. These are the people who lived their lives in order to serve as REAL role models for us. In Proverbs 24:16 it states, “The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.”  We have learned so much from the failures of David, Peter and so many others who are recorded in scripture. Through their life story we can learn to apply their best practices and learn from their failures to become the people God wants us to be.

We shouldn’t fear failure, failure is a part of life.  How we respond to failure makes all the difference and gives insight into our character.  If you have a beating heart you can recover from failure and be twice as strong for Him as you were previously.  Satan wants you to believe failure equals defeat and hopelessness.  Our stumbles can lead to valuable lessons and strength in our overall walk.  

Do: Often it is hard to see the positive when the failure is fresh and the pain great. However, it becomes more clear in time. Think back and reflect on some of the positive lessons learned during a time when you failed.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I pray that my fear of failure dissipates over time so that I may be more encouraged to do your will Lord. Help me to grow through my failures to become the person you want me to be. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Read: Luke 9:59-62

Think:It really hit home on Sunday when Pastor Ben talked about commitment and the concept of being a FAN and or a FOLLOWER of Christ. I loved the quote that Ben used, “Delayed obedience is disobedience.” Surprisingly enough, it made me think back to last week when I was really frustrated that one of our kids never puts anything away. Ever had that problem?  Our requests to “please put the cereal bowl, napkin, juice box, wrapper, apple, or whatever they have out away” are always met with the same response of “I WILL!!!!” or “I was going to”.

Being the amazingly calm, collected and patient father I am; I had planned to talk to our kids today after church about the issue.  Pastor Ben’s sermon made me stop and think to myself Ok, wow- how committed am I? How is my obedience? Are they learning from me? “Am I all in for the Christ or just partway?”

In our society today, we have so many distractions, so many things to do and so many places to go- sometimes I find myself pushing my relationship to God to a lower priority than I should. I justify it in my mind by thinking, “I worked late last night, I could really use the time in the morning just to sleep in and I’ll get to my bible study tomorrow.”  Suddenly the next day turns into the next day and then the next until a significant time has passed.

How committed is that? It makes me reflect on Luke 9:59-62:

He (Jesus) said to another man, "Follow me."

But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."

Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."

Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

What is holding you back from following him 100%?

Do:God needs our 100% commitment to following him, lay aside those things that distract you from following him- you’ll be a better follower and a better role model for those who learn from you.

Prayer:Dear Lord, I want to come to the place where I give you 100% commitment. Help me to follow you. Regardless of all other commitments in my life may I always keep you my top priority. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Read: Exodus 36: 8-38; Colossians 4: 5-7

Think: This week Paul continued the series “Your bucket list” and focused on work, ‘Does my work matter?’

This week has been about the purpose and value of work and work as a place to witness. In our passage from Exodus today we see the Israelites using their skills to build the tabernacle. Each of them had different skills carpentry, metal work, tailoring or making fabric but they all used their skills to  create a place for God’s glory, our work can follow that pattern too. Today for many people the job they or others do become all consuming in their lives, an object of worship. We can by focusing on God and His will for our lives worship God through work in the same way that the Israelites did by allowing God to be central to every part of our work.

We should be making our work ‘excellent and ethical’ before God, to honor Him and reach out to our fellow workers. As Jesus was on earth he used every opportunity to reach people and we should be following his example not only during ‘church hours’ but at work being real with people but showing them Him in us.

Do: Take some time to think of a way in which you can improve an area of you work or life to show God in His glory… perhaps by letting other drivers in, or opening the door for someone or even acknowledging and appreciating someone else’s work.

Pray: Loving Father; Please be with each of us as we go through the day whether in a place of work or working from home. We ask that you would bless those that come into contact with us and help us to show you more in our daily lives. Please help us see the opportunities we are given and find joy in the ‘not so easy’ parts of our work. Amen