Grow Deeper
Next Steps
21 DayDevotional
WEEK ONE
Day One
1 John 3:18 (NIV) Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Reflect: True love is seen in action. There is no greater example of such love than Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and we are called to live by His example. To live in Christ’s love is not to simply talk about it, but to show others that we love them. Through selfless, sacrificial actions, we illustrate the perfect love of Christ.
Action: It’s easy to miss opportunities to share the love of Christ. Ask God to open your eyes to these daily encounters where Jesus can be shared and to help you with every occasion where you can show the love of Christ through your words and actions.
Day Two
Philippians 2:2 (NIV)… then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
Reflect: In this verse, Paul, talking with his friends and having acknowledged their suffering, appeals to them, in their current situation, to stand firm in one Spirit and as a united body. Only then can they complete Paul’s own joy.
Action: When we are facing challenges, it can be easy to let our faith be put on the back burner and start looking for solutions in the world. Pray for the strength so your first response can be to stand firm and trust God. Pray your family and friends will approach the challenge as a united body.
Day Three
Ephesians 4:16 (NIV) From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Reflect: You are wonderfully connected to each person in the body of Christ. Jesus Christ is the head and you are a member of His body, joined together with other believers. God has given you your own distinctive gifts and talents for His purpose in the building up of His body, in love.
Action: Ask the Lord to enhance the unique gifts and talents that He has given you and help you to use these gifts at The Mount and in the community. Pray God will unify you in love, with every other believer, building and strengthening His body, as well as the local body of The Mount.
Day Four
1 Corinthians 3:9 (NIV) For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
Reflect: Paul tells us that we are God’s fellow workers, laborers with Him. We are not capable of increasing the Kingdom of God by ourselves, but it is the Lord working through us. The Lord gives each of us opportunities to get involved and work for the future of His Kingdom, and our heart should welcome those opportunities.
Action: Ask God to open doors of opportunity for you to be used by Him to advance His Kingdom. Praise Him and thank Him for every opportunity He has given to you in the past and those He will surely provide in the future.
Day Five
Colossians 3:23 (NIV) Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.
Reflect: Your life has a destiny that is beyond what this world has to offer and greater than anything that you can ever imagine. Far too many live their lives to be people pleasers rather than God pleasers. There are eternal rewards that await those who live their life to please God. It is the Lord that you serve, and it is the Lord that will reward you.
Action: Ask your Heavenly Father to show you how your life could be more pleasing to Him. Pray that the Lord will deepen your passion to seek His favor over the favor of men.
Day Six
Philippians 3:14 (NIV) I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Reflect: Paul tells us to forget the past and work toward our heavenly future. Too often, we allow the mistakes of our past to keep us from becoming involved. As Christians, we are to live the eternal life we have in Jesus Christ. There are those whose future does not include eternal life because all they think about is life here on earth.
Action: Pray for those whose focus is on things that keep them from experiencing eternal life. Be an example by how you speak and through your actions.
Day Seven
James 2:17 (NIV) In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Reflect: Believing expresses itself in doing. If the pioneers believed but didn’t do, where would we be now? They had a vision for the future. They took a risk, got involved and did something about it.
Action: Ask God to direct you in where He would have you serve in the body of The Mount Church, to show you how to get involved, and support the vision.
WEEK TWO
Day Eight
Exodus 35:21 (NIV)… and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments.
Reflect: We see Moses went into great detail about the needs for the tabernacle and its court. The people gave an offering for the work that needed to be done because they understood God had freed them from slavery and made them rich. Therefore, what they had belonged to Him.
Action: When the Spirit moves upon the heart, something happens that causes you to want to work for God. God desires us to have a willing and joyful heart. Ask God to move in your heart. When that happens, you will be rejoicing that you are part of this great undertaking.
Day Nine
Deuteronomy 16:17 (NIV) Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you.
Reflect: Blessings can be associated with protection and happiness. God’s blessings protect us and help guide us to the path of happiness and righteousness. We often take some blessings for granted and fail to live a life that demonstrates an attitude of thanksgiving. The blessings from God grow sweeter and more precious as we become more thankful for them.
Action: Ask God to show you what you can do to demonstrate how grateful you are for His blessings.
Day Ten
1 Chronicles 29:3 (NIV) Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple:
Reflect: While King David wanted to build a temple, God told him the task would not be accomplished by him, but by his son, King Solomon. So David did the next best thing he could do. This verse tells us about David’s great gifts and his gathering of the materials to build the temple. King David clearly wanted God to have the best because his heart was filled with love and devotion for the Lord. He wanted to honor and glorify God.
Action: Consider your reason for giving. You are able to rejoice in your giving when you realize giving is neither a duty nor an obligation, but it is a privilege. It is an awesome privilege to be able to honor God through our giving. Prayerfully ask God to search your heart and remove any negativity regarding your giving.
Day Eleven
1 Chronicles 29:14 (NIV) But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.
Reflect: The truth being emphasized in David’s humble prayer before God is this: all we are and all we have, comes from God alone. Our ability to give whatever we can also comes from Him. The purpose behind the act of giving is to allow our hearts express our love for God; giving back to God what is already His, with willing hearts, reveals how much we really love Him.
Action: we encourage everyone at The Mount should pray about giving. If you are married, pray together so you can be united in this act of worship. Ask God to give you clarity and a willing heart, because all that we have ultimately belongs
to Him.
Day Twelve
2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV) Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Reflect: The Apostle Paul is writing to the Corinthians about generosity. Paul does not want to command generosity because, if one is commanded to be generous, then it is not true generosity. Sincere generosity comes from the heart, not a command. Paul encourages preparation to ensure our giving comes from a willing and generous heart.
Action: Stop and consider that God loves a cheerful giver. Think about this principle and let it weigh on your hearts.
Day Thirteen
2 Corinthians 9:11 (NIV) You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
Reflect: God supplies seed to the sower so we can “increase the harvest of your righteousness” (9:10). God gives these things so we will be generous and do good works. Our generosity can cause others to thank God. Doing good for others and being generous will cause people to give thanks and glorify God.
Action: Ask God to supply you seeds for sowing and to multiply your seed so you can be generous toward others and do His good work.
Day Fourteen
Mark 14:3 (NIV) While He was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on His head.
Reflect: Broken and poured out. You see those words in both the story of the woman and the Last Supper. How can you live your life broken and poured out in remembrance of what He has done for you? Are you giving Him your best?
Action: Talk to God about things in your life you’re holding onto that need to be broken and poured out to Him. Ask how your life can be a living memorial to Him.
WEEK THREE
Day Fifteen
1 Corinthians 13:3 (NIV) If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Reflect: As sisters and brothers in Christ, we are to love one another. The Apostle Paul ascribes meaning to the word love. Imagine how much easier it would be for others to fit into The Mount if each one of us loved in the manner Paul describes.
Action: Pray God will enable you to love in the way Paul describes. Ask Him to provide opportunities for you to help others find a place at The Mount Church.
Day Sixteen
Luke 6:49 (NIV) But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed, and its destruction was complete.
Reflect: Life has its ups and downs. Storms and floods will inevitably come. Those who heed the words of Christ and build their foundation on Him will not be destroyed by the storms of life.
Action: As you pray, intently seek God and ask Him to help you clearly hear what He has to say to you through His word and bless you with the will to obey.
Day Seventeen
Mathew 11:29 (NIV) Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Reflect: When hauling and dragging a heavy cart, two oxen are connected by a yoke, which allows them to share the weight of the burden. Jesus
tells us His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He desires that we have a teachable spirit and extends a great invitation to replace our yoke with His and learn from Him. He does not want us to struggle in vain. As He teaches us His ways and as we learn to trust in Him, we are freed from our heaviness thereby finding rest for our souls.
Action: Pray that our church will have a teachable attitude and a hunger for the Word of God. Pray for Pastor Adam and staff who help bring God’s Word to the people.
Day Eighteen
Galatians 5:13 (NIV) You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
Reflect: Paul is talking about the freedom from the demands of the Old Testament Law. It wasn’t that the Law given to Moses was bad or broken; we were bad, we were broken. And that’s where grace comes in. God gives us forgiveness, peace, and love. Paul wants to make sure we are not enticed by the flesh to do wrong. Freedom in grace is not freedom to sin, but freedom to serve others in love
Action: Are you using your freedom in Christ to serve others in love? If we live for God, we live to serve. Today, look for a way to do good. Look for a way to serve those around you through your faith in the freedom of grace.
Day Nineteen
1 Mathew 5:16 (NIV) In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Reflect: As a Christian, you are not of this world. You are light, a reflection of Jesus Christ, in a very dark and hurting world. People who are surrounded by darkness can’t find their way. They need a light to guide them. You can be that guiding light to those around you. Through acts of kindness, gentle words, and extending yourself, you can show the light of Jesus Christ to others.
Action: Ask the Lord to let your light shine brightly in a very dark and hurting world. Pray that each person at The Mount will see people through our loving Father’s eyes, giving our church a vision to reach out and be a light to those who are in the dark.
Day Twenty
1 Peter 3:15 (NIV) But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
Reflect: God has given each of us a testimony—our own personal story of the loving grace of Jesus Christ in our life. Christians are called to be witnesses for Christ. God continually presents opportunities throughout our lives to share our hope in Christ with others. Be prepared in every circumstance to kindly share with others the blessed hope you have as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Action: Pray you will see God’s hand in every encounter and seize each opportunity to share the story the Lord has given to you of His loving grace in your life.
Day Twenty-One
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and he will make your paths straight.
Reflect: If you know God, He will take personal responsibility to make your way smooth and straight. He will remove the obstacles if they need to be removed. He will fill in the potholes if they need to be filled. He will redirect the detour so what seemed to be a dead end turns out to be the best way to reach your destination.
Action: All you have to do is trust in the Lord. You are trusting when you are waiting on God to show you the next step you should take. Don’t skip this step. Wait for Him to tell you. He promised. He will direct your path.