Advent Devotion

Taken from the Rethink Church website.  The rules are simple - take a photo for each term and a description is completely optional.  Here we go...

Week 8 - Blessed are those who are persecuted

"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"

Matthew 5:10

Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers.  Francis Chan

1)  www.opendoorsusa.org has a World Watch List that continually reports which countries suffer the greatest persecution for their religious beliefs.  Download the list and pray for a different area each night.

2)  The Voice of the Martyrs is a nonprofit group that strives to make the world aware of the persecution  Christians suffer.  Go to their site at be-a-voice.net.  Become a part of Be-A-Voice network, then find the profile of a persecuted Christian and make a commitment to write to an pray for this person.

3)  Chances are, you sit with the same people at church or at work.  Try to switch it up this week and get out of the normal routine - sit in a different pew or invite someone different to lunch.  Get to know them, learn their story, show mercy.

4)  Go to christianfreedom.org and search under United States, Mexico, or UK to inform yourself about persecution near you.

5)  Visit persecutedchurch.org and order a free IDOP (International Day of Prayer) kit.  Use it to make your church or youth group aware of the needs of persecuted Christians around the world.

KE Week 7 - Blessed are the peacemakers

Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be call the sons of God (Matthew 5:9)

If peace is more than just the absence of conflict, what can we do to be active peacemakers?

1) Pick one or two people who have won the Nobel Peace Prize and reflect on the way(s) they used their gifts to improve our lives.  How can you create peace with your talents?

2)  The scriptures say its a good idea to "be quick to listen and slow to speak" (James 1:19).  This week hold your tongue in arguments, even when you think you are in the right.  Once you have listened, calmed down, and prayed about your response, then speak your mind.  Be in active peacemaker in a conflict.

3)  Give a friend a hug.  In fact, give a few.  Hugs are free.

4)  Todd Parr (a children's author) wrote The Peace Book, a book about the different ways peace can be made in our world. Buy a copy or check one out at the library and keep it with you.

5)  Chaos is a word that most people add to their vocabulary after having children.  Children aren't the most peaceful of all beings.  Volunteer to watch someone else's children this week or volunteer in your children's ministry this Sunday and give the regular volunteer a chance to hear the sermon.

6)  Consider people in your town who play an active role in peacemaking: police, teachers, civil servants, pastors.  Write them a letter of affirmation, make a donation, or prepare something special to show your appreciation.

KE Week 6 - Blessed are the pure in heart

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.   Matthew 5:8

"He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart."  - C.S. Lewis

Jewish laws stated many specifics about outward cleanliness but avoided specifics about cleanliness of the heart.   Are we simply following rules or are our actions guided by a pure heart.

1) Unplug from all media activity for a week as a means to simplify your life.  Instead of watching TV or surfing the internet, spend some time outside.  Seek God and listen.

2)  Visit your church when nobody is there. Pray in silence for the people of your community.  Pray for others' struggles and addictions as well as your own.  Light a candle to symbolize each person you raised up in prayer.

3)  Sign up for the accountability program at xxxchurch.com.  It doesn't matter if you have ever struggled with an internet addiction or not.  This is a safeguard against future temptation.  xxxchurch will help keep you accountable to having a pure heart when on the computer.

4)  Carve out space every morning to memorize Ps. 139:23-24.  Pray the verses for a week, asking God to reveal those area of your life that act as a block in your relationship with him.

5)  If you don't already have an accountability partner, seek out a trusted friend and set up times to meet regularly.  Use these times to share joys, struggles, temptations, and everyday life.  One of the main reasons God created the body of Christ was so we could encourage and support one another through this faith journey.

6)  Purity doesn't stop at the physical boundaries we set for ourselves.  It also involves how we treat our bodies and the earth around us.  You may love your bag of Cheetos, but for one week eat fresh foods.  Refill a reusable water bottle instead of wasting plastic disposable bottles.  See how purity comes in all shapes and sizes.

7) Take a candle to the people you prayed for this week.  Include a note explaining that you lifted them up in prayer.

KE Week 5 - Blessed are the merciful

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.  (Matthew 5:7)

Jesus says we will be blessed if we are merciful.  But being merciful isn't always easy, especially with people who don't deserve it.  I think this week will be the hardest yet for me.  

1) We all know a moocher or someone who owes us.  Forgive their debt, big or small, and forget about it.  

2)  Think about some pet peeves you have based on what others do.  Recognize that you have your own behaviors that drive others crazy.  Because of this, make room for others' quirks by refusing to whine about them.

3)  We've all had waiters or waitresses who forgot our drinks or messed up our order.  Maybe he or she was having a bad day.  Use some of your money to give a bad restaurant server a good tip this week just because you know that mercy is a good thing.

4)  Collect some money and give it to someone to pay their traffic fine.  Christ paid a price for us that we didn't deserve.  Practice this and be grateful.

5)  It's easy to be skeptical of beggars on the street.  Don't think about how they became homeless.  Show mercy by going to a local homeless outreach that feeds those who are hungry.  Smile and look for the stories behind the eyes.

6)  Hurry often short-circuits our ability to be patient.  Lack of patience then leads to a lack of compassion when others force us to slow down.  This week practice do some spiritual training in patience - drive to and from work, or wherever, without passing anyone.

7)  Completely unaware of other people's feelings.  Dominates conversation.  Throws you under the bus.  Can never admit to being wrong.  We all have friends who have tried our patience or has betrayed our trust.  Rise above the frustration. Be the friend you wish he or she could be and don't hold a grudge if that person doesn't seem to change.

KE Week 4 (Holiday Edition) - Blessed are those who hunger and thirst.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Matthew 5:6

Do not depend on the hope of results.  You may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps opposite to what you expect.  As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results, but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself.  - Thomas Merton

The purpose of this week's experiment is to help us focus on the meaning of righteousness, translated to mean 'divine justice'.

1) In order to go after righteousness, some have found it necessary to remove themselves from the mainstream.  Jesus even drew back and isolated himself as a way to gather strength.  Take several hours away from your busy life.  Go to the park, a bench, the church altar, etc and limit the outside distractions like your cell phone.

2) Commit to reading three chapters of the bible this week.  Read them expecting to hear something being taugt from God.

3) Take notes on your pastors sermon.  Even better, try to make what you learned a part of life.

4) Take time to learn what issues are facing your local community council or parent teacher association.

5) Righteousness is being desperate for God and depending on him.  What are some things that you choose to depend on rather than God?  Make a list of those things and ask God for strength and wisdom to depend on Him instead of these things.

6) go to chainstorereaction.com and send an email to one of the stores asking them to do their part to end slavery.

7) When you choose to draw near to God and to hunger and thirst for righteousness, there is a price. That price is a longing to make things right.  Make something right this week.  Ask a friend for forgiveness, get over a grudge - whatever it is, make it right. 

KE Week 3 - Blessed are the meek

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth - Matthew 5:5

In a society constantly in pursuit of success, does meekness get in the way of succeeding?  Can a person be driven and meek at the same time?  Think of some examples of meek people who have been very successful.

This week's experiments:

1) This week, when you want to raise your voice, work to be gentle and soft-spoken instead.

2) Odds are you were pain in the neck of your grade school teachers.  But some of those teachers probably still stand out in your mind as being outstanding.  Write a letter to one, thanking him or her for being significant in your life.

3) Most churches have a maintenance or cleaning person.  This is an important and often overlooked ministry.  Make some cookies, bring a snack, or write a card to show your appreciation for what they do when nobody else is looking.

4)  Wait until they are gone and mow your neighbor's yard.  Don't let them know it was you.

5)  Choose the least likely person to be on your team.  If you have a dodgeball game or kickball game allow a gentle spirit to help you reach out to those who are often overlooked.

6)  Using your social network of choice, publicly praise someone else at least once a day.   Better yet, praise someone toward whom you feel competitive or jealous.

7)  What is your gift?  Are you a guitarist? Do you play piano?  Really good at math?  Whatever it is, offer your talents to help someone else - with no strings attached.