Learn It-Own It-Live It Devo.pages

266 Pages·2014·1.23 MB·English

Learn It
Own It
Live It
A collaborative year-long devotional book
from leaders, staff, and owners in
ministry.
This book is dedicated to you, the
reader, as you learn God’s Word, own
your life of discipleship, and live the
life God has created you to live.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New
Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale
House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.
All rights reserved.
Contents
Introduction… 3 Week 27: Sex… 135
Reading Plan… 4 Week 28: Armor of God… 140
Week 1: Devotion… 5 Week 29: Honesty… 145
Week 2: Community… 10 Week 30: Faith… 150
Week 3: Discipleship… 15 Week 31: Holy Spirit… 155
Week 4: Evangelism… 20 Week 32: Prayer… 160
Week 5: Exodus… 25 Week 33: Fruits of
The Spirit… 165
Week 6: The Fall… 30
Week 34: Leadership… 170
Week 7: Creation… 35
Week 35: Attitude… 175
Week 8: Sermon on
the Mount… 40 Week 36: Influential
Women… 180
Week 9: Worship… 45
Week 37: Jealousy… 185
Week 10: David… 50
Week 38: Health… 190
Week 11: Joy… 55
Week 39: Love… 196
Week 12: Eternity… 60
Week 40: Finances… 201
Week 13: Loneliness… 65
Week 41: Integrity… 206
Week 14: Pain… 70
Week 42: Respect… 211
Week 15: Nehemiah… 75
Week 43: Wisdom… 216
Week 16: Judges… 80
Week 44: Work… 221
Week 17: Children… 85
Week 45: Missions… 226
Week 18: The Church… 90
Week 46: Productivity… 231
Week 19: The Gospel… 95
Week 47: Knowledge… 236
Week 20: Serving… 100
Week 48: Sanctification… 241
Week 21: Submission… 105
Week 49: Sacrifice… 246
Week 22: Persecution… 110
Week 50: Purpose… 251
Week 23: Death… 115
Week 51: Unity… 256
Week 24: Temptation… 120
Week 52: Humility… 261
Week 25: Legacy… 125
Contributors… 266

Week 26: Marriage… 130
2
Learn it. own it. live it.
Introduction
This devotional was written collaboratively between
many individuals in various roles of ministry. This was done
to provide a broad perspective and variety of voices on the
many areas we can study to grow each year in our walk
with Christ. Each devotional topic has five days of reading
with a short passage of scripture to get your mind centered
and aware of where the author is drawing their insight.
We have also provided a reading plan that will take
you through the entire Bible this year! At the bottom of
each page you will see a specific book (or books) of the
Bible to read that week while going through the topical
devotion. Some books are longer than others and will go
over multiple weeks; simply look at the bottom of the
pages throughout the weeks, and you will see what you
should be reading and for how long. Also, some are very
short and have been paired with another book or books.
This will allow you to take extra time to read longer books
and only a day or two to complete shorter ones.
We pray that, as you go through your topical
devotion and are hearing God more clearly in your life, the
addition of staying in God’s Word through longer scripture
reading will change you in an amazing way! The authors
are only providing a launch-pad… a starting point. The
ultimate goal is to read your Bible, pray, know God, and
understand what Christ is calling you to do next. That
doesn’t happen by only reading a devotional book.
It can be intimidating to read the entire Bible; so,
be courageous — be patient with yourself — and don’t get
frustrated if you come to the end of a week and you didn’t
finish the reading; catch up to the plan on the next week!
I pray you will be blessed through the year as you grow in
understanding of our amazing God and Savior Jesus Christ.
- LPC Staff

3
Reading Plan
Week 1: Joshua Week 28: 2 Corinthians, Galatians,
Ephesians
Week 2: Luke
Week 29: Ezekiel 1-24
Week 3: Zachariah, Hebrews
Week 30: Ezekiel 25-48
Week 4: Romans, 1,2, & 3 John
Week 31: 1 Samuel 1-20
Week 5: Exodus 1-20
Week 32: 1 Samuel 21-31, Joel,
Week 6: Exodus 21-40
Philemon
Week 7: Genesis 1-25
Week 33: 1 Kings 1-13
Week 8: Genesis 26-50
Week 34: 1 Kings 14-22 , Obadiah, Jonah
Week 9: Psalm1-38
Week 35: Deuteronomy 1-24
Week 10: Psalm 39-77
Week 36: Deuteronomy 25-34, Esther
Week 11: Psalm 77-114
Week 37: 2 Kings 1-12
Week 12: Psalm 115-150
Week 38: 2 Kings 13-25, Hosea
Week 13: Job 1-27
Week 39: Ruth, Philippians, James
Week 14: Job 28-42 , Micah, Nahum
Week 40: Proverbs
Week 15: Nehemiah, Lamentations
Week 41: 1 Chronicles 1-15
Week 16: Judges
Week 42: 1 Chronicles 16-29,
Week 17: 2 Samuel
2 Chronicles 1-28
Week 18: Malachi, Acts
Week 43: 2 Chronicles 29-36,
Week 19: John Colossians, Revelation
Week 20: Habakkuk, Haggai, Week 44: Amos, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus
Matthew 1-5
Week 45: Zephaniah, Mark
Week 21: Matthew 6-28
Week 46: Leviticus 1-16
Week 22: Ecclesiastes, Jude,
Week 47: Leviticus 17-27, Ezra
1 & 2 Thessalonians
Week 48: Jeremiah 1-17
Week 23: Isaiah 1-22
Week 49: Jeremiah 18-35
Week 24: Isaiah 23-44
Week 50: Jeremiah 36-52
Week 25: Isaiah 46-66
Week 51: Numbers 1-17
Week 26: 1 Corinthians, 1 & 2 Peter
Week 52: Numbers 18-36

Week 27: Song of Solomon, Daniel
4
DEVOTION
DAY 1
“But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the
door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.
Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward
you.” - Matthew 6:6
A ‘devotion’ in our modern religious mind conjures
up an image of painstakingly sticking to a regiment day
after day. But true devotion is defined as an act of worship
that we engage in with God privately. There is no more
tightly locked room than the one within our own mind.
Are you able to find 10 minutes isolated from the
world to focus on God? I think you can. However, it may
require you sacrifice your own time — you may have to get
up early; earlier than your spouse or children. Then, you
can read God’s Word and meditate on what He is saying to
you.
True devotion starts with the absolute desire to
know God and be led by Him in all you do. I suggest you
start your morning in worshipful devotion; it will only take
a few minutes, but will permeate your entire day. If I read
this passage correctly, one can assume that Jesus talked to
his Father much more than we are aware — if Jesus
amazes you by what all we have seen him do, imagine the
hours he spent alone with God!
God is already there waiting for you: He sees
everything, and longs for you to enter a relationship with
Him. How you convey yourself to others is important, which
we will discuss in other weeks, but you need a solid
foundation before all else. It might seem awkward, at first,
to sit in silence and talk to God, but it is the slab on which
the rest of your true devotion will be built.

Joshua 5
Devotion
DAY 2
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.
Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable,
and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think
about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
- Philippians 4:8
So, when did you decide to read your devotion
today?
Have you ever had a day that started out poorly,
then it got worse, and then you were about to snap
because of the frustration? I have!
What tends to happen to us when we have a bad
day is we begin to expect the worst in every situation we
encounter. In this verse, Paul is reminding the Philippians
about what kind of thoughts should consume our minds:
Godly thoughts. We talked yesterday about why there are
benefits in starting our day in quiet devotion with God; this
passage emphasizes that point.
What would your day look like if you walked out
your door or out of your bedroom expecting pure and
lovely things to happen? I walk out of my bedroom each
day with my mind swirling in a vortex of what I need to do
at work, after work, family events, etc. In fact, before
writing this first week of devotions, I was getting to work
early and then doing my devotion at my desk — that
worked most days, but other days I couldn’t focus on God
because my mind was already disgruntled with the tasks I
was not looking forward to completing.
God wants me to praise Him and bring Him glory in
everything I do. I simply can’t do that in my own power; I
need to fix my eyes on His grace and the rest naturally
follows.

6 Joshua
Devotion
DAY 3
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world,
but let God transform you into a new person by
changing the way you think. Then you will learn to
know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing
and perfect. - Romans 12:2
Let’s not get distracted by what the world is like in
my opinion: you can answer that question for you right
now. Take a minute to consider, what does the world ask
you to think about?
Now that you have spent a couple of days thinking
about ‘thinking’, what does that accomplish on a practical
level? Does the way you think change what’s happening
around you? I don’t think it does. I still have to complete
those tedious tasks each day. What has changed, however,
is my attitude. God will transform you into a new person by
the way you think; on the practical level that changes our
purpose in life. We don’t see things happening around us
the same way other people do:
• A devoted Christian sees opportunity during conflict to
show grace balanced with a strong stance of integrity
when needed.
• A devoted Christian sees opportunity in work to
exemplify the role Christ played in service, sacrifice,
and duty.
• A devoted Christian sees that God has a will for their
lives. Even if they don’t fully understand the end
result, they know God is pleased by their progress.

Joshua 7
Devotion
DAY 4
The teaching of your word gives light, so even the
simple can understand. - Psalm 119:130
A common problem people face when they begin to
read God’s Word in a devotional life is that there isn’t
someone explaining each passage of scripture. This
devotional you are reading right now is designed to get the
ball rolling. But, it’s not enough.
You need to keep reading God’s Word. I suggest if
you don’t know where to start, download a reading plan or
follow along with one that is found in the back of most
Bibles. Or, as you go through this devotional each day, go
back and read the full chapter from where the verse we
used was pulled.
Psalm 119:8 tells me that God’s Word will begin to
teach me, and even though it takes me a while to learn
some things, I will begin to understand the His lessons
more easily. We live in a culture (Western societies) where
we expect things to happen quickly. We overestimate what
we can do in a short time, and underestimate what can be
accomplished over a long period of time.
What does that mean? It means we expect to be
able to listen to a sermon once a week or read a chapter in
the Bible once every two weeks and see change in our lives
— but, we only get frustrated when we still don’t
understand God. The truth is we need to feed ourselves a
steady, consistent diet of God’s Word. The first example is
like shining a light on a maze and then turning off the light
— good luck making it through the maze. The second is a
steady light that goes with us, making our path much
easier to navigate.

8 Joshua
Devotion
DAY 5
Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on
understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for
understanding. - Proverbs 2:2-3
I hope your first week following this devotional has
brought you some new insights and begun to change the
way you think. If this is the first time you have ever
followed a devotional or committed to read the Bible every
day, it was probably difficult… did you miss a day and have
to read two at once? Be honest! It’s okay!
Have you ever been to a play or a musical that had
an orchestra? If you show up early you can hear all the
musicians getting in tune with each other. It takes them a
while to get ready. And they are professionals who have
already practiced together leading up to the show.
You are going to have to get your life, thoughts, and
desire in tune with God. Ask Him for help, cry out for help!
If you are too ashamed to call out to God for help, it’s time
to swallow your ego. Remember, God wants to change the
way you think. He wants you to cling to the pure and lovely
things. God wants you to fix your thoughts on seeking
understanding. We are accustomed to plowing through
confusion and tolerating most of the day in anticipation
that it will soon be over, and then we can relax on our
couch before bed.
God’s will for our lives needs to be realized every
moment — and those moments are happening even if you
are waiting for them to pass. If you embrace God in daily
devotion, you will find yourself not far out of tune each
morning, and you will be playing some amazing music
despite the crowd of chaos.

Joshua 9
Community
Day 1
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’
teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals
(including the Lord’s Supper) and to prayer. A deep sense
of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed
many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers
met together in one place and shared everything they had.
They sold their property and possessions and shared the
money with those in need. They worshiped together at the
Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and
shared their meals with great joy and generosity — all the
while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the
people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship
those who were being saved. - Acts 2:42-47
Dictionary.com defines community as: a group sharing
common characteristics or interests and perceived as distinct in
some respect from the larger society within which it exists. The
term community is really a modern term for an ancient word —
fellowship. What we see in this scripture is the first community
of believers (the church) being established. These believers
were all about learning the scriptures, fellowshipping
(community), eating together, worshiping, praying, meeting in
each others homes (hospitality) and sharing with each other
(generosity).
In 2005 when my husband, Aaron and I were talking
about moving to the north to plant a church, this verse came
alive to me. I said to Aaron, “I want to plant an Acts chapter 2
church. I don’t want a formal church all about rules, rituals and
routines, I want a church that does life together, learns the
scriptures together, fellowships together, meets in homes
together, prays together and worships together.”
Nearly 10 years later, that vision has become a reality.
Life Point Church is an Acts chapter 2 church. Our core values
are: the gospel, prayer, relationships, authenticity, acceptance,
discipleship, and service. We are not just a church that meets
for one hour on Sunday morning, we are an Acts chapter 2
church! It is such a blessing to be involved in such a church.
Pause today and thank God for leading you to an Acts chapter 2
church.

10 Luke