Last week was our closing week in Preaching the Gospel to Yourself by The Daily Grace Co. Our group agreed – it was a needed study as we all need to be preaching the gospel to ourselves each and every day.
The week began with reading 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:12-17; 1 Timothy 6:17-19; 1 Timothy 4:1-5; and Psalm 19.
The topic -Â what to do with our free time. Every part of our day matters to Him, and He wants to be included in all of it. God does not desire for us to live joyless lives, but calls us to find delight and joy in and through Him.
Psalm 19 fell on me like I had never read it before. We are awestruck with wonder as we behold all God has created.
“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” (verse 1, NASB)
And I was awestruck as I lifted the shades in our family room to behold a sky rich with color. The pinks and turquoise and shades of purple were as if the sky had been freshly painted.
We are to be struck that very same way with the beauty and wonder His Word delivers to us each time we open it. Follow along in Psalm 19:
- His law –> restoring of the soul
- His testimony –> making wise the simple
- His precepts –> rejoices the heart
- His commandments –> enlightens the eyes
The study asks: How does knowing and delighting in God through His Word impact the way we enjoy His gifts?
As we spend time in His Word, He changes us and does a work in us that causes us to enjoy the gifts He brings more greatly.
“As we return continually to God’s Word, our love and affection for Him grows, and our enjoyment of all of the pleasures of life is enhanced and put into proper perspective.”
(Preaching the Gospel to Yourself, by The Daily Grace Co., page 88)
May we not miss Him today – who knows He may just be visible as we each raise our shades.
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Mid week we read Matthew 22:36-40 and Philippians 4:8.
The topic: Social Media. Such an important and relevant topic to discuss.
“The filtered world of social media makes it easy to idolize the people we follow.”
(Preaching the Gospel to Yourself, by The Daily Grace Co., page 94)
In bold is the word which grabbed my attention, and to which I had to return. “Filtered” as defined by dictionary.com = “processed, boiled down, expurgated.” And yes, then another word grabbed my attention … expurgated = “to purge or cleanse of moral offensiveness.”
And here is where my questions began: What is being removed from us?
Is social media removing those morals from me (us) that others deem “offensive”? Is my (our) life being boiled down so that godly principles are being purged from me (us) little by little?
“Social media has an influential role in all of our lives.”
(Preaching the Gospel to Yourself, by The Daily Grace Co., page 95)
Next word to think on … Influential means something has the capacity to be a compelling force.
We need to be on guard to those compelling forces which will try to change and mold us. We are called to be changed into the image of Christ, with Him being the One doing the transformation. He is to be the standard to which we look.
Social media will slowly erode our souls if we are not careful, leading us to:
- Self-idolatry
- Self-centeredness
- Self-worship
- Loss of self-control
The study encourages us to ask ourselves two questions as we engage on social media:
Is this edifying? Is this helping me to grow in the likeness of Christ?
Let’s discuss this: What practical steps can you take to practice self-control in your use of social media?
The day closed with the use of the words – “by grace” – three times.
- By grace we can use social media as a powerful tool to share gospel truth.
- By grace social media can be a supplemental means of loving, serving and relating to others.
- By grace God can use social media to stir our affection for Him and for His Word.
It’s all by His grace!
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Our final readings were Romans 3:19-26; Galatians 5:16-26; Ephesians 6:10-17; and Psalm 42.
The events of last week were a sobering reminder that while many of our days are ordinary, even mundane, there is a battle going on around us that will cause us to doubt and wrestle with our faith.
One thought that so resonated:
“Rather than relying on gospel catchphrases in moments of crisis, it should be a language that is utilized and laced throughout our ordinary days.”
(Preaching the Gospel to Yourself, by The Daily Grace Co., page 103)
For some time, I have been done with exactly that – gospel catchphrases – those catchy, rhyming or cutesy phrases that sell us an empty promise.
May we long for the Word which has power to transform lives and situations.
“The good news of saving grace that led to your saving faith is the good news of sanctifying grace that grows your faith.”
(Preaching the Gospel to Yourself, by The Daily Grace Co., page 104)
Let that sink in as it is powerful. We don’t want to just stop at saving faith. We want our faith to continue growing for all of our days, and this will require God’s sanctifying grace at work in our lives through the power of His Word.
And that is the Gospel!
What is one thing you can do to remind yourself of the gospel every single day?
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By grace, we can experience Jesus every day.
By grace, we can keep social media in its rightful place in our lives.
By grace, we can grow as we stay in God’s Word each day.
Photo 1: by calimiel from Pixabay
Photo 2: by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
Photo 3: by eko pramono from Pixabay
Today I may be joining … Tell His Story
