Foundations June 1, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Acts 20-21
SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 19:1-2 (NIV); The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his
hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.

God creates with purpose. Even as He created the first things there was purpose; the waters
gave life to the land which brought forth vegetation which provided food for Adam and Eve and
the animals. And Adam and Eve were purposed to care for it all.
The psalmist keenly described the greatest purpose of creation – to glorify the Creator. The
later psalms affirm this, as nature is continually summoned to “praise the Lord!” But Psalm
19:2 adds an incredible observation: creation itself is a voice, proclaiming that the order of the
earth is no accident; it has been created by an all-powerful and knowledgeable God! From
the vastness of our universe, to the intricate details of the human body, there is order and
preciseness that can only be explained by a personal Designer.
We step outside every day, but we often allow God’s creation to go unnoticed. Yet, to its very
roots, it is pointing us towards the evidence of this great and mighty God, with whom we, His
creation, can have a deep and personal relationship!

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Take some time to go for a walk, or to sit outside and observe the created world around you.
How do the things you see show you that God is real, powerful and glorious?
2. Meditate on the patterns of creation – seasons, planting and harvesting, etc. How does
creation reveal God as a God of purpose? As a God of knowledge? As a personal God? Allow
these things to draw you into worship.
3. As God’s creation, you are made to worship Him. How can your life be a proclamation for His
greatness today?

Foundations May 31, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Acts 17-19
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 6:18-20  praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that
end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for
me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of
the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought
to speak.

There is a strong and powerful relationship between putting on the armor of God and
praying. These two things belong together; in fact, one grows out of the other. What is
prayer? Prayer is conversation with God. In our life as Christians, prayer ought to be
like the very air we breathe. E.M. Bounds teaches that prayer is foundational in our walk
with God, “no learning can make up for the failure to pray. No earnestness, no diligence,
no study, no gifts will supply its lack.” Our life is to be a perpetual communing with God.
Prayer is not a mere formality to say before a meal or to open a meeting. It’s the way that
we acknowledge our need and dependence on God. Singh states that “the essence of
prayer does not consist in asking God for something but in opening our hearts to God. The
true spirit of prayer does not consist of asking for blessings, but in receiving Him who is
the giver of all blessings, and in living a life of fellowship with Him”. As we conclude our
study on the Book of Ephesians, let’s remember that the Christian life is not about making
yourself happy and comfortable. It’s a battle with the unseen forces of wickedness in the
heavenly places. To fight for God against this evil enemy, we must be people of prayer! We
will only advance safely if we remain on our knees!

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Ask the Lord what He wants to talk to you about today. What does He want to say to
you? In your journal, jot down what He tells you.
2. Ask the Lord to grow your prayer life, ask Him to speak to you, pray that you will hear
His voice regularly and clearly and that you will learn to fellowship with Him through prayer.
Pray that you will open your heart to Him and let Him speak into your hurts and wounds.
3. Pray that you will grow in devotional prayer, in giving God adoration and praise.
4. Pray that Southland will be a people of prayer.

Foundations May 30, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Acts 14-16
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 6:14-17  Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the
breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness
given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which
you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

In this passage, Paul lists the armour that we need to wear in order to withstand in the evil
day. Each believer must be ready to fight with the armour that God gives us in Christ Jesus:
Belt of Truth – Jesus is the Truth, He is the foundation of spiritual battle and we must stay
connected to Him through reading the Word and prayer.
Breastplate of Righteousness – Jesus is our Righteousness, keep your eyes fixed on
Jesus, keep growing in character and holy living
Shoes, Gospel of Peace – be ready to pronounce the Good News of the Gospel at any
moment
Shield of Faith- faith in action counteracts the attacks of the enemy
Helmet of Salvation- living in a place of present deliverance from sin, living a life of
confession
Sword of the Spirit- using the Words of Scripture to drive away the tempter, letting God
speak to you through the Word in listening prayer

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Ask the Lord to show you if there are any chinks in your armour. Of the pieces listed
above, in what areas do you need to grow so that you can withstand the attacks of the evil
one?
2. Now ask the Lord some practical things that you can do in order to grow in this area.
This may include memorizing scripture, dealing with a character issue, growing in your
relationship with God, etc.
3. Thank the Lord for providing you with all you need in order to withstand in the evil day.
Ask Him to teach you what it means to stand firm and to prepare you for battle so that you
are not fooled into thinking you are ready for battle when you actually are not.

Foundations May 29, 2011

SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 6:10-13  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put
on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the
devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you
may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

We are fighting a war and the stakes are higher than they have ever been in human history.
Our enemy? Not flesh and blood, no human foe—we fight against a much more fearsome
opponent whose forces are described in verse 12. Our adversary, Satan the devil, and
his host of demons have a single, driving purpose: obliterate the children of God. Faced
with the cares of this world we can easily forget about the severity of this battle. But make
no mistake our spiritual lives and futures in God’s Kingdom are on the line. If we lose this
war, we lose everything. What can we do in the face of such overwhelming odds? Is there
any hope? Paul has the answer in verse 13, as he gives the call to arms. By putting on
all of God’s armour we can be assured of withstanding our enemy’s onslaughts. In verse
10, Paul exhorts believers to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. The
strength is not our own but is God’s strength. Paul is telling believers that they can be
strengthened not only by the person of the Lord but also by His resources.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Ask the Lord to reveal further to you what it means to be strong in the Lord. Where does
your strength come from? Where should it come from?
2. Ask the Lord to show you how and where you have been depending on your own
strength instead of relying on His. Ask Him to show you a specific situation. After
confessing this as sin, ask Him what steps you need to take in order to be depending on
Him and His resources instead of yourself.
3. Thank God for the strength that we can have in Him! Ask Him to grow your reliance
upon this strength.

Foundations May 28, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Acts 11-13
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 6:5-9  Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere
heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as
servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good
will as to the Lord and not to man,  knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he
will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. Masters, do the same to
them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in
heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

In the context of our Canadian culture, we do not have slavery but there are still some
principles in this passage that we can apply to our lives in regards to how an employee
treats his employer in the work place. As Christians, we would magnify our witness in
the work place if we would adhere to these principles in the workplace. There are a lot
of Christian workers in the workplace with non-Christian bosses and non-Christian coworkers,
these people see our attitudes and how we work. In this passage we are called
to have one attitude and one attitude alone. That attitude is to do whatever we do as unto
Christ. God has placed bosses as human authorities in our lives and as workers, we are
called to obey. It means not to gripe every time the boss tells you to do something. When
we are work, we are obeying Christ by obeying our employers. Sometimes it may seem
tough to obey our worldly employers, but we must remember who really is in control.
We must understand that we serve a sovereign God. He is omnipresent, omniscient,
omnipotent and in control, even of our workplaces and our employers. Knowing this should
motivate us to obey this command.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. In listening prayer, ask the Lord how you are doing in the area of submitting to and
obeying your employer. Do you get caught up in office gossip? Do you complain about
him/her? What does your testimony look like at work? Confess these things as sin, asking
God to forgive you.
2. Ask the Lord to give you a greater understanding of His sovereignty, ask Him to grow
your trust of Him so that you can obey your boss and not worry about office politics.

Foundations May 27, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Acts 8-10
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 6:1-4  Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  “Honor your father
and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), ”that it may go well with you
and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but
bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

One of the purposes of marriage is for making children—that is, procreation. Having babies!
This is not the main meaning of marriage but is an important one. But merely populating
the earth isn’t good enough; marriage is for making children disciples of Jesus. The point
of family is to increase the number of followers of Jesus on the planet. What does it
mean to bring up children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord? First, it involves
setting Biblical standards and boundaries and reproving children when they cross those
boundaries or break those standards. Second, in involves training children or discipling
them in their walk with God. This means that families need to pray together and read the
Bible together. You may be single or married without kids, but you can still pray for the
families in our church because parents desperately need your prayers. Family values in
our society are degrading; parents are fighting against a culture that wants to steal the
souls of their children. For those of you that are empty nesters – discipleship doesn’t stop
just because your kids are grown. Even adult children need godly counsel and the prayers
of their parents. As a church, let’s commit to taking these verses seriously, let’s commit to
bringing up our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Spend a few moments praying for the families in our church. Pray that parents would
see the importance of training and disciplining their children. Pray that parents would set
healthy boundaries for their kids and teach them about the Lord.
2. Pray for the children in our church. Pray that they would be obedient and that they would
live set apart from the world, that they would seek first the Kingdom of God. Pray that
many strong lifelong friendships would develop as children seek God together.
3. Pray for the leaders who train and disciple our children each week, pray for wisdom,
love and compassion for the kids in our church.

Foundations May 26, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Acts 5-7
SCRIPTURE READING: Read: Eph 5:22-33

Believers in Christ are the body of Christ—we are the organism through which He manifests
His life and in which His Spirit dwells. Knowing this about the relationship between Christ and
the church, Paul sees a parallel here with marriage. He sees that husband and wife become
one flesh and that Christ and the church become one body. Paul uses the relationship of
human marriage to describe and explain the relationship between Christ and the church. God
didn’t create the union of Christ and the church after the pattern of human marriage; just the
reverse, He created human marriage based on the pattern of Christ’s relation to the church.
Everything God does has purpose and meaning. When God created man and woman and
ordained the union of marriage, He didn’t roll dice or draw straws or flip a coin. He patterned
marriage very purposefully after the relationship between His Son and the church, which
He planned from eternity. And therefore marriage is a mystery—it contains and conceals a
meaning far greater than what we see on the outside. As a society, we don’t take marriage
as seriously as we once did. More and more people are choosing to live together instead of
getting married and many people, instead of fighting for their marriage, give up and succumb
to divorce. It’s safe to assume that God wants the church to be full of healthy marriages
because it is a reflection of the relationship between His Son and the Church.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Spend some time praying about the marriages in our church. Pray that God would
strengthen the marriages and that broken marriages would become whole again. Pray that
couples who are struggling in their marriage would be willing to get personal ministry. Pray
that believers would see the importance of working on their marriages and not leaving them
to chance.
2. If you are married, ask the Lord to reveal to you how you can tangibly show love to your
spouse this week. Ask the Lord to strengthen your marriage as you take these steps of
obedience.
3. Spend some time confessing that as a society, we don’t take marriage seriously enough.
Confess the sins of fornication and adultery on behalf of our church, region and nation and
ask for God’s mercy.

Foundations May 25, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Acts 2-4
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 5:15-20  Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,  making
the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish,
but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that
is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,  giving thanks
always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul begins this passage encouraging believers to walk wise. The opposite of living wise
is living foolish. When we think of a fool we think of someone who does irresponsible acts,
or who speaks irresponsible words, but the Bible defines a fool as one who exists apart
from God. A wise man is one who lives in accord with God’s divine principles. Continuing
on, at first, the rest of the passage seems like a bit of a paradox. In verse 16 we are
told that the days are evil yet in verse 19 we are to rejoice, singing songs and spiritual
hymns. Does this make sense? Paul is not naive about the world; he is not in some sort
of dream world where life is easy. Paul knows that it is beyond our understanding and
beyond our emotional ability to give thanks to God for all things; it comes with the filling
of the Holy Spirit. If we trust the Holy Spirit, He will unfold for us how our omnipotent and
all-wise Father in heaven can even take the evils of the world and work them together for
our eternal good. And that is worth rejoicing about! How do we live in evil days? We are
thankful in all things through the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Spend some time looking at how you walk. Are you walking in wisdom or in foolishness?
Ask the Lord to reveal to you any areas of your heart where you are existing apart from God.
2. Spend some time thanking God for His sovereignty, praise Him for working all things out
for our good. Ask the Lord to give you spiritual eyes to see the many things that you can be
thankful for and rejoice in God for those things.

Foundations May 24, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: John 20-Acts 1
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 5:3-6  But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be
named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk
nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may
be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that
is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive
you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons
of disobedience.

In this passage, Paul is eager to eliminate certain behaviors and attitudes from the
Christian life. But how does he attempt to eliminate these things? If we don’t see the how,
then we don’t see the gospel and without the gospel, the prohibitions become the letter
that kills instead of the Spirit that gives life. This is true no matter how well we succeed in
getting these things out of our lives. Paul writes about ridding Christians from several sins:
Immorality refers to sexual sin such as premarital sex, impurity is unnatural sexual relations
such as homosexuality, covetousness is the inability to be content and filthiness, foolish
talk and crude joking are pretty self explanatory. As Christians, we are to take off the old
self of fornication and homosexuality and covetousness and filthiness and silly talk. And
what are we to put on? THANKSGIVING (vs. 4)! Why? Because if you are overflowing with
thanksgiving to God, then you are not dominated and driven by discontentment at what
you have been denied. Gratitude is what you feel when you believe God is for you and
not against you. It’s what you feel when you believe that God gives you only what is good
for you and withholds no good thing. Gratitude says that God is the satisfaction of all my
longings. Covetousness says that God is not adequate as a satisfying treasure; I must have
money or I must have sex—God will not suffice! Let’s commit to putting on thanksgiving in
our war against the flesh.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Ask the Lord for five things that you can be thankful for today. Spend some time
thanking God for these things.
2. Spend some time confessing any immorality, impurity, covetousness, foolish talk or
crude joking in your life.

Foundations May 23, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: John 17-19
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 4:32- 5:2  Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God
in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children and walk in
love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

This passage is an amazing passage that we could dwell upon for hours. God is calling
us to leave the old self behind and to grow in Christian virtues, one of which is kindness.
Christian kindness is not merely an external change of manners; it is an internal change
of heart. Verse 32 says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted. . .” Christian kindness
is tenderhearted. If the heart is hard on the inside and the manners are meek and polite
and helpful on the outside, it is not Christian kindness. The idea behind “tenderhearted” is
that our insides are easily touched. When your skin is tender, it doesn’t take a very hard
touch to make it feel pain. When your heart is tender, it is easily affected. It feels easily and
quickly. When you stop and think about it, it is remarkable that this is commanded by the
apostle. You can’t just decide to be tenderhearted and turn it on like a faucet. It is a deep
character quality. Where does it come from? How can we obey this command to make
our kindness to each other deep and heart-felt, not superficial and cool? There are three
keys to growing in Christian kindness. First, we must believe that Christ died in our place
and that He gave Himself up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Second, we must
believe that God has forgiven all of our sins. In order to be kind, you must believe that
you have been forgiven. Third, we must believe that we are loved by God. We are loved
children – if you truly believe this deep down in your heart, not just in your mind, you will be
transformed forever!

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Ask the Lord to show you the true condition of your heart. Are you tender towards the
things of God or is your heart hard?
2. Of the three keys to growing in Christian kindness, ask the Lord which one you need to
concentrate on.
3. Ask Him to grow you and transform you in that area. Commit to praying about this
regularly and working on that particular area.

Foundations May 22, 2011

SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 4:26-31  Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give
no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing
honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in
need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building
up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the
Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Let all bitterness
and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
Spend some time in listening prayer, asking the Holy Spirit if there are any areas that you
need to clean up in your life. Check the box of any areas that you need to confess:
Anger
Apathy
Argumentative
Arrogance
Covetousness/Envy
Jealousy
Fear
Greed
Hatred
Judgmental
Laziness
Materialism
Negativity
People-pleasing
Perfectionist
Pride
Procrastination
Racism
Revenge
Sarcasm
Self-pity
Self-righteousness
Suicidal Thoughts
Unbelief
Unforgiveness/Bitterness
Vengeance
Other(s) _____________

1. One by one, confess your sin to God. Ask Him to cleanse you from this sin and to forgive
you.
2. Go through each of the sins that you checked and ask God to fill you with their opposite.
For example, if you checked off fear, ask God to fill you with peace. If you checked off
materialism, ask God to fill you with contentment.
3. Commit to warring against sin in your life and commit to confessing sin regularly. Ask the
Holy Spirit to help mature you and grow you.

Foundations May 21, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: John 14-16
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 4:22-25  to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is
corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and
to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and
holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with
his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

In these verses, Paul speaks of contrasts. There is an old nature and a new nature. One
is to be put off; the other is to be put on. One is corrupted; the other is created. The
corruption of the old agrees with desires of deceit. The creation of the new agrees with
God in the righteousness of truth. Note especially the word “created.” We do not produce
our new nature as Christians. We were dead in trespasses and sins (according to 2:1)
and were made alive by God’s sovereign grace (2:5). Our new nature is God’s creation,
God’s workmanship. It is a supernatural work of grace. But, we may ask, if my new life in
Christ is God’s creation and workmanship, then what is my task? Verses 23-24 give us the
answer; we are to put on this new nature. When God creates in us a new heart, he does
not cancel out our consciousness. We must constantly choose, hour by hour, to put on
the new self. The moral choices we face as a new creature in Christ are just as real and
crucial as the choices we faced before we were born again. Verse 25 tells us that lying is
part of the corrupt old nature therefore it should be stripped off with the old nature in all our
relationships. But especially in the church! As a church, let’s be known for not lying to each
other; let’s not have any hypocrisy, or duplicity, or deception, or evasiveness. Instead let’s
be candid with each other, and straightforward, and plain, and frank, and open, and real,
and truthful, and honest. Let’s walk in the light!

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Spend some time thanking God for making in us a new creation, commit to choosing,
hour by hour, to walk in His ways.
2. Ask the Lord to reveal any areas of hypocrisy, duplicity, deception or evasiveness in your
life. Confess these things as sin, asking God to forgive you. Then commit to walking in the
light!

Foundations May 20, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: John 11-13
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 4:17-21  Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer
walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their
understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due
to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to
sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned
Christ! — assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is
in Jesus.

This passage begins with a very penetrating analysis of the hardness and darkness and
ignorance and corruption and futility of the human heart. Why does Paul do this? Because
it’s so important that the root of our problem be recognized. There is no point in telling
people how to manage their anger (4:26) and their money (4:28) and their sexuality
(5:3) and their time (5:16) and their tongue (4:29) if we don’t help them to know and heal
the disease of their heart. We can’t settle for quick fixes and superficial, upbeat attitude
changes. We must to be healed. We want to be free from the very root of sin! We must see
the yuck that is in our hearts, until we see this clearly and agree that this is what we are by
nature, we probably will be healed very lightly and very superficially. No man or woman
or book or seminar or program can save us from the disease of sin, only God can. How
are we healed? It is by hearing the voice of Jesus and being taught by him (verse 21). He
has diagnosed our disease, and now He gives Himself as the cure. Conversion requires a
change in living. The old corrupt way of life that is fuelled by deceitful desires is to be in the
past as Christians are to live in a new way, empowered by listening to Jesus, being taught
by Him and obeying Him.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Have you been trying to manage your anger, money, sexuality, time and tongue without
dealing with your diseased heart? If so, ask the Lord if you should book a personal ministry
appointment or go to an Encounter in order to deal with the heart issues.
2. Spend some time committing to dealing with your sin His way. Tell Him that you want to
be empowered through Him, that you want to be taught by Him and that you want to obey
Him. Ask Him to help you do this.

Foundations May 19, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: John 8-10
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 4:14-16 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and
carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful
schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who
is the head, into Christ,  from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every
joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so
that it builds itself up in love.

This passage of scripture continues from yesterday’s passage. The main theme is that
God has given the church leaders to train and equip the church for ministry. Ministry is for
everyone, not just for church leaders. The aim of ministry is to become a body of Christ
that is unified in faith and unified in knowledge, and that grows more and more into Christlike
maturity. As a church, we do not want to be left immature and vulnerable; instead
we are to grow up. How do we grow in maturity? We do it through prayer, meditating on
Scripture, hard work, discipline, concentration, application, and even more prayer! Another
thing Paul mentions in this passage is that we are also to speak the truth in love. It is
possible to speak the truth without love, but that will repel people. Love takes an interest
in the ones being taught and won’t sacrifice the truth in order to not hurt their feelings
yet speaking out of a heart of love means that the motivation is for their good, and out of
compassion. Sometimes we can get overwhelmed by the standard that God has called
us to but verse 16 tells us that Christ is the one who joins the whole body, who holds it
together; we are dependent on His leadership. As long as we are spending time with
Jesus, listening and obeying Him then He will help us on our journey into maturity.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Ask God to give you a picture of how He has been maturing you over the last few
months. Thank Him for working in your life, for drawing you into maturity, for growing you
in Him.
2. Ask the Lord if you sometimes compromise the truth out of fear of people’s response.
Ask Him to show you how real love speaks the truth out of compassion, then ask Him to
show you a relationship where He wants you to apply these truths.

Foundations May 18, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: John 5-7
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 4:11-13 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and
teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

This text is the Magna Carta of church ministry. It is a description of how the body of Christ
must work in order to fulfill its God-ordained purpose. In verse 8 Paul says that when Christ
ascended, he gave gifts to men. Then verse 11 describes people - church leaders who
have been given the gifts of apostleship, prophetic, evangelistic, shepherding (pastoring)
and teaching. Paul tells us that the purpose for this is to equip the saints for the work of
ministry, for building up the body of Christ. God gives spiritual leaders to the church whose
role is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. Some say that these roles were only
to establish the New Testament church, but verse 13 tells us that this will occur until we
all attain the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. Can we honestly say
that the church is at full maturity, to the measure of the fullness of Christ? No, of course
not! Then we can thank God for the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds
and the teachers that God has given to us as a gift so that each one of us can be equipped
for the work of the ministry (vs. 12). How often do we set aside a chunk of time to thank
God for the church leaders that He has given to us as a gift? Let’s commit to holding our
leaders up in prayer on a more regular basis and commit to being more thankful for them.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Spend some time thanking Jesus for the many well-equipped leaders in our Church.
Pray that God will continue to work through them and that every member of the church will
be equipped for ministry.
2. Are you presently involved in ministry? Ministry is for all believers, although our roles
may be different, one thing is the same, we are all called to be ministers. Spend some time
praying about your ministry fit. If you presently serve in the church, ask God if this is where
you are to remain. If you don’t presently serve, pray about what possible ministry areas
you can begin to serve in.

Foundations May 17, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: John 2-4
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 4: 7-10 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s
gift. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he
gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had
also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who
also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)

Paul is showing that Jesus is the ascended, victorious Lord over all and that He has
sovereignly given various spiritual gifts to His church so that “He might fill all things” (verse
10). Grace gifts are given to each believer because of what Christ did on the cross. Paul is
going to talk about these grace gifts in later verses but detours for a few verses first.
In verses 8-10 Paul quotes Psalm 68:18. The exalted Christ who ascended after He
descended in the incarnation, distributed gifts to people or assigned each of the members
of the body different ways of serving the body. It’s like a victor who gives away the spoils
from his victory. In the incarnation, Christ descended from the highest heavens to the
lowest regions where he suffered and died, was buried and defeated death by rising again.
He ascended again 40 days later to be seated in the highest heavens at the right hand of
the Father (Acts 2:33). Christ is the supreme head of the church who fills all things.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Spend some time praising and thanking Jesus for descending down to earth to be born
as a human baby. He was fully God and fully man; this was an incredible act of humility.
2. When Christ ascended, He gave spiritual gifts to men; He did not leave His church ill
equipped. Spend some time thanking God for the spiritual leaders in our church as well as
for the spiritual gifts. Ask the Lord if He would like you to go to an Empower to learn more
about the spiritual gifts, so that you can use the gifts He has given you.
3. In listening prayer, ask the Holy Spirit what some of your spiritual gifts are. Ask God how
He wants you to use these gifts to edify the body of Christ, the Church.

Foundations May 16, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Luke 23-John 1
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 4:1-6 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy
of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness,
with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the
one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and
Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Why do you think Paul starts this section by calling attention to the fact that he is a
prisoner? Paul wants us to see that walking worthy of our Christian calling is worth being
imprisoned for and worth dying for.
Writing from prison tells us that his message is dangerous (not in a bad wayJ). His
message is not a nice, middle class way to solve our problems and be comfortable.
Real, radical Christianity is risky and unpopular and dangerous. Paul urges us "to lead a
life worthy of the calling to which you have been called." We must recognize how much
our place in God family should demands from us. The focus is not on our worth but on
the worth of our calling. Verses 2-3 tell us what it means to walk worthy, we are to be
growing in humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love (longsuffering or
endurance), as well as eager to maintain the Spirit in the bond of peace (unity and oneness
in Christ). In verses 4-6 Paul continues to explain the unity that he has mentioned in
verse 3. There is one body (the body of Christ), one Spirit (the Holy Spirit), one hope that
belongs to your call, one Lord (Jesus), one faith (salvation by grace through Jesus), one
baptism, one God and Father of all. In other words, there is nothing different about the faith
for Jew or Gentile and there should be no division in the faith. Paul is establishing oneness
in Christ, before he goes on later in the chapter to discuss diversity in gifting and equipping
the church to grow.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Pray that you would live your life in a manner that is pleasing to God. Ask the Lord what
this means for you.
2. Ask the Lord to help you grow in the areas of humility, patience, gentleness, love and to
grow our church in unity.

Foundations May 15, 2011

SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or
think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ
Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Paul ends with a doxology which is a short hymn of praise to God. In this prayer, Paul
tells us that God is able to do abundantly more than we ask or think. His power has no
limits; He can do more than we are capable of ever thinking of or asking for. WOW! God
hears and answers prayer; let this encourage you to continue praying even when it feels
hopeless. Let praise be given to Him whom all praise is due! We must magnify and glorify
His name. There is in the heart of every child, teenager and adult the need and longing to
sing a doxology. Unfortunately, we may sing it more heartily to athletes or rock stars than
we do to God. But there is no denying that the song is in every heart. We were made to
worship and sing. We were made to have a hero to brag about, namely, God. The main
reason people feel awkward about singing or shouting glory to God is simply that He is
not as real to them as the entertainers and athletes of our time. The experience of having
your heart soar in admiration to God depends on whether you have ears to hear and eyes
to see that above and behind every admirable thing on earth stands the magnificence and
beauty God. The reason God created the world and called the church into being is so that
He would have a unified system to reflect His glory to the universe. The proper response to
the greatness of our God, His power and love is one of worship and praise, adoration and
glory given to Him. The church must give Him the honour due His name, the splendour, the
majesty, throughout all generations, forever and ever.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Do you struggle singing and worshipping God? What are the worldly things that are in
the way of your giving God the worship that He deserves? Confess these things as sin,
asking for forgiveness.
2. Ask the Lord to give you some practical steps that you can take in order to better reflect
His glory to the universe. This may include watching your language, being less critical of
others, showing acts of kindness, etc.

Foundations May 14, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Luke 20-22
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 3:14, 16-19 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father… that according
to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his
Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you,
being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints
what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that
surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

What Paul has written in this chapter, brings him to his knees in prayer before the Father.
There are many positions in prayer but in this verse Paul mentions bowing his knees before
the Father. This shows humility before God. Paul was not casual before God but rather
reverent. Paul prays that they would be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit in
their inner being. We need a connection with the Holy Spirit in order to be strong on the
inside (heart, soul, and mind). As we are connected with the Holy Spirit, Christ dwells in
our hearts through faith. The foundation of our faith is the love of God. Paul wants all the
saints to understand the immense love God has for us. The more clearly we understand
God’s love for us the firmer the foundation of our faith. Paul writes of the vastness of
love God has for us, and prays that we will be able to comprehend it. Paul truly wants
us to know the love of Christ; this is one of the highest privileges of being a Christian, it
surpasses knowledge. Knowledge is good but growing in love for God surpasses it. Paul
just wrote of the vastness of God’s love in verse 18 and now he mentions that we may
be filled with the fullness of God. Is it possible to experience the fullness of God? No,
but we can experience God to our own capacity and ask to be given a larger capacity to
experience Him. We must strive for completeness in our connection to Christ.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Spend some time reflecting upon your reverence for God, are you casual around Him do
you bow your knee in respect for Him?
2. How is your connection with the Holy Spirit? Ask the Lord to strengthen your faith and
your resolve to stay connected with Him.
3. Ask the Lord to give you further revelation of the depth of His love for you, ask Him to
give you a word, thought or picture of His great love.

Foundations May 13, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Luke 17-19
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 3:8-9, 11-12 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was
given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light
for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all
things…This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our
Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

Paul sees himself as the least of all the saints; this is not false humility, for he knows of
the greatness of Christ and is humble before God. It was amazing that God chose him,
a persecutor of Christians, to work in powerful ways. God can truly use anyone. Paul
had been called to preach to the Gentiles about the unsearchable riches of Christ. This
message is so unfathomable that man could have never understood it with the God Himself
revealing it. Paul’s purpose in preaching to the Gentiles was to bring to light the plan of
the mystery hidden for ages. What Paul was preaching was like telling of a mystery that
had been in the mind of God since the beginning of time. This message was not only for a
select few but for all people and it was from the Creator God. The eternal purpose of God
now becomes visible in the Church, it was not a last minute decision but was the plan all
along and it was through Jesus. Through our faith in Jesus we have boldness to draw near
and access to God. It’s amazing to think that we have been given access to God and can
have boldness in drawing near to Him. What an amazing thing Jesus did for us.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Are there things in your past that are keeping you from being used from God? If so,
what are they? Are you willing to leave these things at the foot of the cross and be used by
God? Ask God to help you leave them there so you, as Paul, can be a minster.
2. Spend some time thanking God and praising Him for His perfect plan of salvation. Thank
Him that because of Jesus, you can draw near to God and have access to Him. Ask God
to impart upon your heart a deeper response back to Him in love, reverence and respect.
3. Pray that the message of Christ Jesus would spread throughout our country, that the
church would boldly proclaim this message.

Foundations May 11, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Luke 11-13
SCRIPTURE READING: Read Eph 2:11-22

In verses 11-12 Paul begins with a description of the alienation between Jews and
Gentiles -specifically Jewish Christians and Gentiles. Then in verses 19-22 the text ends
with a description of the reconciliation between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians.
In verses 13-18 he describes how this occurs. These verses are so rich and thick with
doctrine that it would take days to unpack it all therefore we will focus on the most essential
point - Jesus Christ, the Son of God died - and He died by design and yes, He rose and is
alive. But the emphasis here falls on His death. Where do we see it? We see it in the word
“blood” in verse 13b: “You who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood
of Christ.” We see it in the word “flesh” in verse 14, “. . . abolishing in His flesh the hostility.”
And we see it in the word “cross” in verse 16, “... and might reconcile them both in one
body to God through the cross.” The rest of the text is Paul’s explanation of how the blood
of Christ - His death in the flesh on the cross - removes the hostility between God and Jew,
God and Gentile and Jew and Gentile, and, therefore, by implication, between every ethnic
group of Christians who are in Christ. What God has done is create a new people, which
is what God is aiming at in our salvation, creating a new people so free from hostility and
so united in truth and peace that God Himself is there for our joy and for His glory forever.
That’s the aim of reconciliation: a place for God to live among us and make Himself known
and enjoyed forever and ever. God ordained the death of His Son to reconcile alien people
groups to each other in one body in Christ. This too was the design of the death of Christ.
Christ died to take hostility, anger, disgust, jealousy, self-pity, fear, envy, hatred, malice and
indifference away from our hearts toward all other persons who are in Christ by faith.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Spend some time thanking God for the reconciliation that we have through Christ Jesus,
not just between God and ourselves but between every ethnic group of Christians.
2. Spend some time in prayer, asking the Lord to reveal to you whether you hold any
bitterness in your heart against any Christian denominations. Spend some time confessing,
as necessary.

Foundations May 10, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Luke 8-10
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own
doing; it is the gift of God,  not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we
are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them.

There is no better verse in all the Word of God than verse eight to show the way of
salvation. We are saved by God’s grace, through faith. Salvation is the gift of God - not of
ourselves. We are not saved by our perfect keeping of the law or because we have learned
lots about God. We are saved by grace (this is God’s part) through faith (this is our part).
Grace is a gift from God; He initiated the plan of salvation and redemption. Salvation isn’t
a result of our human efforts therefore there is nothing that we should boast about (except
boasting about God). Faith comes by hearing and believing God’s Word (Rom 10:17).
Yet, faith is more than just believing as James 2:19 tells us that even the demons believe
in one God. Our faith must be put in action, we must not remain stagnant but be growing
and maturing in our walk with God. We are His workmanship – perhaps it would be better
rendered, we are His masterpiece. God’s work in our lives is a tremendous exhibition of
His wisdom, His power, His love, His character, His peace and His joy. He is teaching us,
training us and producing in us a marvellous masterpiece for good works. Do you have any
idea how many good works God has prepared for you? As you walk in faith and trust and
depend on Christ there are things that Christ is wanting you to walk in, so that through you
He can vividly display the greatness and the glory of God.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Spend some time reflecting on your walk with God. Are you passive about being His
workmanship or are you actively partnering with God to grow in your personal walk with
Him?
2. Ask the Lord to give you some tangible steps that you can take in order to be
transformed into His marvellous masterpiece. This may include asking forgiveness of
someone, dealing with unforgiveness in your heart, going to an Encounter or Empower
retreat, joining a cell group in fall, just listen to whatever God wants to show you.

Foundations May 9, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Luke 5-7
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 2: 4-7 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved
us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by
grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in
the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the
immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

In the first three verses of chapter two, we see the sordid picture of man as a result of sin.
BUT, in the next verses we see that GOD, who is rich in mercy, in His great love, raised
us from the dead with CHRIST, and has made us to sit together with CHRIST in heavenly
places for the singular purpose of displaying the exceeding riches of GOD’s grace in the
ages that lie ahead. God acted in mercy towards us and was motivated by love when we
were spiritually dead, the salvation that we enjoy is the result of God’s grace or unmerited
favour, and it’s not because of anything that we deserve or could earn. Because of Christ
we are no longer dead but have been made alive. Alive together with Christ refers to being
made one alive together - our spiritual life results from our union with Christ. By grace you
have been saved! But it gets better than that, we are not just alive, we have been raised up
with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly place (the dwelling place of God Himself) in
Christ Jesus. This means that Christians have been raised up to reign together with Christ.
This is spoken by way of anticipation. Believers are not yet possessed of their seats in
heaven; but each of them has a place prepared for him.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Think back to the pictures that God gave you yesterday, spends some time thanking God
that because of His mercy, you no longer have to remain in that condition. Thank Him for
salvation, for the life He offers you in Christ.
2. When we continue living in sin, instead of battling and warring against it, we show lack
of reverence toward what God has done for us. Confess that we have done this individually
and corporately as a church.
3. Pray that God would impart a holy reverence for Him, that we would have an authentic
view of grace and not cheapen it by living in sin. Pray that many would respond to His gift
by living lives of holiness.

Foundations May 8, 2011

SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 2:1-3 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following
the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at
work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,
carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the
rest of mankind.

Paul begins his teaching by reminding the Ephesians that they were spiritually dead in their
disobedience and sins and in a state of utter desolation and misery. We often fail to be the
person God wants us to be, we do not live as God wants us to live, we do things wrong, we do
things that we shouldn’t do – all of this is a result of sin. We all have a sin nature as a result of
Adam’s sin. Our nature is to walk in the ways of the world, following the prince of the air which
refers to Satan. We are by our very nature bond-slaves to sin, living in the passions of our
flesh.
Disobedience and sin is a universal problem, no one is immune. Every Christian at one time
has walked according to the passions of the flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and mind
and was doomed to suffer God’s wrath. What a picture Paul paints of us in these verses! What
a sordid, despicable, ugly picture. Dead, walking according to the course of a world steeped in
sin, walking according to the dictates of the devil, following the spirit of disobedience, refusing
to obey. Yet we must know where we came from in order to fully see the greatness of God’s gift
to us. Tomorrow we see how this is not the end of the story. We don’t have to live like this any
longer. In verses one through three Paul paints the picture of us as sinners; but in spite of our
wretchedness, GOD loved us! We’ll look at that tomorrow!

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Ask God to give you a picture of your sin nature, how desperately enslaved our flesh it to sin.
2. Ask God to show you a picture of how your sin has separated you from God.
3. In listening prayer, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you any unconfessed sin in your life.
Spend some time in personal confession, asking God to forgive you.

Foundations May 7, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Luke 2-4
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 1:19-23 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who
believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he
raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,  far
above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and
gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who
fills all in all.

Paul continues his prayer and prays that they would know the greatness of God’s power
towards them as believers. This is the same power that raised Christ from the dead (vs.
20). Knowing the greatness of His power is absolutely necessary for a close and steady
walk with God. It is a desirable thing to know experientially the mighty power of the grace
of God. In verses 20-21 Paul goes on a bit of a rabbit trail to make some points about the
Jesus and His exaltation. Jesus sits at the Father’s right hand in the heavenly places;
Jesus is above all, set in authority over all. All is being made subject to Him in this age
and in the one to come. God has given Jesus authority over the enemy, He is King above
all. What an incredible passage of scripture to mediate on and to teach us about the
magnificence of Jesus. The Father has put all things under Christ’s feet and made Him
head over all things to the church. Being made head over all things was a gift to Christ
and it was a gift to the church to have a head with so much power and authority. Jesus is a
head in guidance and governance, the body receives its instructions, its life and its strength
from Jesus Christ. This is why Jesus must be the functional Lord of each of our lives and of
the Church! God has given Him this position and therefore we must too!

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Spend some time meditating on verses 20-22. Ask God to impart to you a deeper
understanding of the authority of Christ. Ask God to grow in your a deep reverence and
respect for Jesus.
2. Are you getting your guidance from Jesus? Does He instruct you? Ask God to grow you
in making Jesus the functional Lord of your life.
3. Spend some time thanking God for the leaders of this church, who strive to submit to
Jesus and let Him lead this church.

Foundations May 6, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Mark 15-Luke 1
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 1: 15-18 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and
your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you
in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a
spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,  having the eyes of your hearts
enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the
riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.

It has probably has been a few years since Paul has been with the Ephesians therefore
Paul writes that he has heard of their enduring faith in the Lord and their subsequent love
towards all the saints. We should love the saints because God loves them. Paul is thankful
for their faith in Jesus and the love that they have for all the saints. He prays for them
regularly, verse 17 gives us a glimpse into what Paul is praying for them.
Paul intercedes for them to receive a spirit that is rich in wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of Jesus Christ. He wants the Ephesians to really know God, the Father of
glory, in connection with His only Son, Jesus Christ. Paul prays for the illumination of
their understandings, and that their knowledge might increase and abound and that God
would reveal to them the deep things of God. In verse 18, Paul prays that the eyes of their
hearts would be enlightened, our eyes first need to be opened by His Spirit and then we
can become enlightened, all through His Spirit. The heart used here means the innermost
center of man; it’s the seat of understanding and the source of thoughts, desires, emotions,
words and actions. Whatever rules the heart will rule the conduct of a man. Paul is praying
that the Ephesians would understand the hope to which He has called them and the
abundance of their eternal blessings in Christ. We can learn much for Paul’s prayer as we
use it as a model for our own prayer lives.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Can you honestly say that you have enduring faith and love towards fellow believers?
Ask the Lord if there is anyone whom you need to seek forgiveness.
2. Pray, as Paul prayed, for an increase in spiritual revelation and wisdom, that you would
really know God, that the Spirit would open your eyes.

Foundations May 5, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Mark 12-14
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 1:13-14 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the
guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

In Bible times there was much importance to seals, without a seal no document was
regarded as authentic. In many cases the seal consisted of a lump of clay impressed with
the seal and attached to the document. In other cases, wax was used. In these verses,
Paul writes that once we hear the gospel and believe in Christ, we are sealed with the
promised Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the seal for the Christian making the Christian
sure of His salvation. The receiving of the Holy Spirit provides assurance of receiving all
the promises of eternity. By Him we are sealed or set apart for God and distinguished and
marked as belonging to him, it’s like a stamp of ownership or a down payment that assures
us that we will receive the full payment in due time. Again, our response should be one of
praising His glory and magnifying Him. In Biblical times when you bought something you
paid some money (part of the whole price) and then made a promise to the seller that you
would later pay the full price. The Holy Spirit is God’s seal or promise to those that believe
in Him. He promises that one day He will make us completely His own possession, that
they belong completely to Him. This will be completely to God’s glory. We are the Lords
treasured possession and we will share in His eternal Kingdom one day. This should be
cause for us to glorify God, to worship and adore Him.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. The Holy Spirit is an amazing gift from God! Spend some time thanking God for
providing us with the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide, teach and correct us as we walk in
fellowship with Him.
2. Ask the Lord to reveal to you if there have been some commitments that you have
made that you aren’t following through on. Is there an area of your life where you aren’t
preserving in faithfulness? Confess this as sin and ask God to forgive you.
3. If we continue in faithfulness, we are assured our place in eternity; pray that you will
endure in your walk with God, that you won’t give up.

Foundations May 4, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Mark 9-11
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 1:7-10  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom
and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which
he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in
heaven and things on earth.

From the moment we believe we are freed from the guilt and the power of sin “through
his blood”. Redemption comes from what Jesus did for us, from His death on the cross.
Because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross we are freed from slavery to sin and guilt. His
death was an atoning sacrifice. This forgiveness comes according to the abundant
overflowing of His free grace and mercy. God lavished His grace and mercy upon us in “all
wisdom”, salvation was God’s wise plan. In the Old Testament we see bits and pieces of
this plan, we see prophetic shadows of this plan but now God has made known to us the
mystery of His will by His Word and through His Spirit. The mystery of the plan of salvation
had now been revealed as the plan was set forth in Christ, although it is still concealed from
those living in darkness. God has made the mystery of His will known “according to his
purpose”. His plan for the fullness of time is to unite all things in Christ, to gather together
all things that are in heaven and on earth and place them in order again under Christ, their
common Head. This is what we have to look forward to!

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Spend some time thinking about what your life would be without Christ....then spend
some time thanking God for freeing you from the guilt and power of sin through the blood of
Jesus.
2. Thank God for His mercy and grace, thank Jesus for His obedience in becoming the
atoning sacrifice for our sin. Ask the Lord to give you new insight on what this really
means, what He actually did for you.
3. Ask the Lord if you are living in unity with Christ’s plan to unite all things. Are you
submitted to Christ, as the Head of the Church? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any areas of
insubmissiveness in your life. Spend some moments confessing these as sin and praying
for alignment with His plans for His Church.

Foundations May 3, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Mark 6-8
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 1: 5-6 In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according
to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us
in the Beloved.

God chose His people in love, this is the motivation for His entire salvation plan; it’s all
about His love for us. God foreknew the free will choices of men, just like He foreknew
the plan of redemption (see 1 Peter 1:2). His predestining us for adoption speaks of
having foreordained that all who believe in Him should enjoy the position of being sons
of God. Christians, both male and female, are “sons” in the sense of being heirs who will
inherit blessings from their Father in heaven. It is God’s will that He pours out His grace
and goodness to us in Christ. Those who are adopted as sons are to show praise and be
grateful of His glorious grace which is a blessing. We are acceptable to God only based on
receiving the grace that came from the Beloved (Matt 3:17 - Jesus). It is our great privilege
to be accepted by God, this implies His love for us as He takes us under his care into His
family (adoption). Just think of it, if you are a Christian then you are part of the family of
God. The God of the universe, because of His love, grace and goodness has chosen a
pathway for us to be in His family, not slaves or servants but heirs! Amazing!

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Spend some time meditating on the love of God, that even though He knew the choices
we would make, He still wants to adopt us as His sons and daughters. Spend some time
praising God for this.
2. Spend some time thanking God that we don’t have to earn our salvation but rather that
we are acceptable to Him based on the death and resurrection of His Son. Pray that you
won’t take this great privilege for granted but rather that you would respond back to Him in
wholehearted love.
3. Ask God in what ways you have taken the gift of salvation for granted or in what ways
you are still trying to earn your salvation through legalistic means? Confess these things as
s in and ask Him to forgive you.

Foundations May 2, 2011

NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN: Mark 3-5
SCRIPTURE READING
Eph 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in
him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

Paul begins this letter with praising God for spiritual blessings. Sometimes we can get
overwhelmed with the tough stuff in our lives but Paul reminds us that we have much to be
thankful for. God, the Father of Jesus, has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing.
Spiritual blessings are the best kind of blessings and we are to thank God for them. These
are the blessings that are heavenly in nature in contrast to earthly blessings. We have the
gift of the Holy Spirit; we have the hope of a future eternity with Him because He has saved
us form death. What an amazing God! Another blessing that we can be thankful for is that
God chose us “in him” before the foundation of the world. This indicates that for all eternity,
the Father knew the redemption plan. This should have a profound effect on us when we
realize that it was always God’s plan to save us and to find a way to get into relationship
with us. God took the initiative in redeeming us; it wasn’t a whimsical or arbitrary decision
but something that God had planned all along in Christ. We can take no credit for our
salvation; it is a gift from God. As a result of this “that we should be holy and blameless
before Him”. Holiness is not optional for Christians – it is the purpose for His choosing us.

PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Spend a few moments in listening prayer, asking God to show you some spiritual
blessings that you can be thankful for. Try to focus on spiritual blessings, not material
blessings.
2. Thank the Lord for His incredible salvation plan, that it was always His plan to save us
and be in relationship with us.
3. Pray that God would grow you in holiness, that He would speak to you about areas
of your life where there is compromise and that He would empower you to grow in these
areas.