To whom do you belong? Where do you find your purpose? How do you understand your identity, this world, and your role in this world?

This world is God’s and everything and everyone in it. Our purpose and our vocation in this life depends on the God who designed it, made it, and purposed everything in it. We find our belonging in the one to whom we belong—we belong to God.

The Psalmist writes, “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1 ESV).

When we see ourselves as belonging to God and living in a world that belongs to God, it is easier to focus on God and his purposes in the world and to seek to do the will of God.

May we see ourselves as belonging to God and seek to do his will in this world of his.

What do you notice about people or organizations that are truly great? How do people or organizations truly make an impact in the lives of others?

There is no better way to be great and to make an impact in the lives of others than service.

People who think outside of themselves and to the betterment and the well-being of others are humble servants who make a measurable impact in the world. There is nothing better than humble service to change lives and to make a difference.

Jesus modeled this humble service and calls his followers to serve in a giving, selfless, and self-sacrificial manner to love others well.

Jesus said, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-28, ESV).

Do you have people who speak into your life with truth and love?

We need people who can help us see ourselves clearly and who can help us navigate life. We need people to help us to understand how we can be better. We need others to help hold us accountable and to seek reconciliation with God and others.

We cannot go about life on our own. We need other people. We are better together.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus spoke about addressing conflict and seeking understanding for the unity of his people. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:20 ESV).

How do we handle people who wrong us and break our trust? How has God dealt with us?

If we live in this world for any time at all, we will be wronged by someone. We will get hurt at some point in our lives by others. Trust will be broken. Wounds will be received. People will break us. We will experience sin.

How should we respond when we experience brokenness from others?

The scriptures teach us in Romans that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, ESV).

The Apostle John wrote, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:11, ESV).

Where does salvation come from? How are we rescued from our brokenness? Who rescues us from our sin?

Our salvation comes from Jesus when we confess him as Lord and believe in him.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9, ESV).

Salvation comes from God alone. Our first step in being saved is looking outside of ourselves to Jesus as we recognize him as Lord and believe in our heart that God resurrected him.

Why was Jesus baptized? What did Jesus’s baptism accomplish and communicate to us?

Luke tells us, “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." (Luke 3:21-22, ESV).

Matthew’s Gospel account adds, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented.” (Matthew 3:13-15, ESV).

This conversation and interaction between John the Baptist and Jesus reveals Jesus desire to be obedient to the requirement of the law and his desire to fulfill the law in order to “fulfill all righteousness”.

Is it possible that sometimes we do not want what we deserve? Could it be possible that the injustice of not receiving what is ours is the biggest blessing and benefit of our lives?

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Rome, saying, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 ESV).

We deserve death as payment for our personal sin and rebellion against God.

However, God in his infinite love and mercy has given us his free gift of everlasting life in his son Jesus.

Sometimes life, grace, mercy, and blessing come through not getting what we deserve.

May we experience God’s grace as we do not receive the payment of death for our misdeeds, but eternal life through Jesus.

When shadows fall over our lives and darkness encroaches, where do we look for light?

In life we can encounter shadows and darkness which can cause us to stumble, fear, loose hope, or even despair. Darkness can cause us to loose perspective and can keep us from seeing clearly.

The Prophet Isaiah wrote, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.” (Isaiah 60:1 ESV).

The Apostle John wrote this about Jesus in his gospel account, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” (John 1:9, ESV).

Later in the gospel of John, Jesus said this about himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12, ESV).

How do you hold up under pressure? How do you keep going when you are faced with difficulties and obstacles in your life?

When we are heavily burdened, it can be challenging to hold up under the pressure. It can be overwhelming to push forward when faced with challenges and resistance.

The Psalmist writes, “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” (Psalm 55:22 ESV).

When we cannot hold up under the weight of our burdens, we need to place them upon the shoulders of God who can bear the load.

When we cannot sustain our course forward, we must allow God to sustain us along the way and to help us navigate our way forward.

Can you be confident of future growth? Is it possible to predict future blessing and rewarding harvest in your life?

We grow the seeds we sow. We harvest what we plant. We receive from the labor we invest.

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Corinth this encouragement, saying, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6 ESV).

When we plant the abundant seeds of God’s kingdom purpose and blessing, we will harvest an abundance of God’s kingdom purpose and blessing. We reap what we sow.

Paul exhorted the Galatian church of this truth, saying, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7, ESV).

Who are you? What does God say about who you are?

You are the beloved of God. God made you. God knows you. God has redeemed you. God calls you by his own name. God makes you his own.

The Prophet Isaiah wrote, “But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1, ESV).

We also see what God thinks of his children at the baptism of his Son Jesus. God sends his Holy Spirit to descend upon Jesus. God calls Jesus his Son, his beloved—even before Jesus began his official ministry. God says he is well pleased with Jesus, and he had not even begun to serve him.

Luke tells us this about the Baptism of Jesus, “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’” (Luke 3:21-22, ESV).

What if we were born into this world, lived our lives, and never grew up?

We could not imagine an infant being born and living a long life and never growing up.

If we expect that people should physically grow up, should we not also expect to grow up in our relationship with God?

As we grow up physically, we should also grow up in our faith. We should grow up in our relationship with Jesus.

The Apostle Peter spoke about this growth when he wrote, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation--if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 Peter 2:2-3, ESV).

As followers of Jesus, we should crave the nourishment of our faith. We are to desire to grow up into salvation.

Do you ever really stop growing? What are your plans for growth in the next year?

As long as we have breath in our lungs, we should experience growth in our lives. We never stop growing and we should actively pursue growth in our life daily.

In the Book of First Samuel, we see the young Prophet Samuel growing physically, spiritually, and relationally—in his relationship with God and with others.

Scripture tells us “The boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.” (1 Samuel 2:26, ESV).

This is also similar to how Luke describes Jesus’ growth in his gospel account when he says, “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52, ESV).

Do you ever feel like you do not belong? Do you feel like a stranger in a strange land? Has it ever felt like you were at war with yourself, or with the world around you?

We do not belong to this broken world. As followers of Jesus, we are citizens of another kingdom—The Kingdom of God.

Our sinful nature is at odds with, and is even at war with, the presence and purpose of God in our lives and in this world.

The Apostle Peter wrote, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” (1 Peter 2:11, ESV).

As we journey through this life, we cannot live the way we want to—in our own self-seeking and selfish sinful desires. We must live differently in our lives and in this world.

Who does the work of making you right with God? Can you set yourself apart for holiness? Can you purify yourself? Can you sanctify yourself?

The process of sanctification, or being made holy or purified from sin, is something we participate in, but ultimately, it is something that God does. God sanctifies us. God purifies us. God completes us. God finishes his purifying work of holiness in us and through us.

The Apostle Paul wrote the Thessalonian church with these encouraging words, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, ESV).

Paul assured the Thessalonian church that it is God that sanctifies completely. It is God who keeps us blameless. The one who calls us to purification, or sanctification, is faithful to do the work of purification in our lives. God is working on each of us to make us blameless. He will surely do it.

Do you see yourself as someone with good intentions? You want to do the right thing, right?

Most of us desire to do the right thing and to live our lives with good intentions, but we do not always live up to our own standards of doing right. We certainly fall short of a perfect standard of what is right—God’s standard—God’s law.

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Rome, saying, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, ESV).

Paul lamented to the Roman church, saying, “So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand.” (Romans 7:21, ESV).

Our sinful nature leads us astray and causes us to fall short of God’s best and to fall short of doing what is right. Every one of us have failed to do right. When we desire to do the right thing, evil, sin, and temptation is close by leading us astray.

Who does God want to come to salvation? How should we share this good news?

God desires that all people would come to know him and love him. This is why Jesus came into the world.

The Apostle Paul wrote the Corinthian church, saying, “Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.” (1 Corinthians 10:32-33, ESV).

When we share the good news of Jesus’ salvation for all people, we should do it in a loving manner.

Paul did not want to give any offense to anyone. Elsewhere, he said to “speak truth in love”. Paul desired to please everyone in all that he did to share the good news of Jesus, and we should do the same, so that everyone may be saved and know Jesus.

What does what you wear say about who you are? Does who you are also determine what you wear?

As followers of Jesus, we are called to put on Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Rome, saying, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (Romans 13:14, ESV).

The follower of Jesus is clothed with the character of God, and clothes himself with God’s salvation and righteousness, as we do not have any of our own.

God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah, saying, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” (Isaiah 61:10, ESV).

What is the significance of Jesus being born into this world? How is Jesus different from any other ruler or king?

The Israelite people were looking for a King from the days of old, after having settled into the promised land. God was faithful and gave them a king, but he did not stop there. God gave his people Jesus—a Savior King.

The Apostle Paul spoke of this glorious truth as he spoke to the people about Jesus in the book of Acts. Paul told the salvation history of Israel, saying, “Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul… And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’” (Acts 13:21-22, ESV).

Who would you exclude from receiving God’s greatest gift ever given? Is there anyone outside the goodness, grace, mercy, and salvation of our God?

When Jesus, the savior of the world, was born into this world, he came in great humility and revealed himself first to lowly and despised shepherds abiding in the fields at night.

Luke’s gospel account tells us, “There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.” (Luke 2:8-9, ESV).

These faithful shepherds had never encountered anything like this before and were filled with paralyzing fear. God chose to reveal himself to these shepherds first—even though they were thought of as destitute, impure, dirty, and were despised by the culture.