Week 4: Focus Our Lives
Five minutes with God each day
 
Monday: In Galatians 2:20, Paul writes: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” How might Christ live through you this day? Spend time in prayer, asking this question to Jesus – then listen to hear his answer.
 
Tuesday: Henri Nouwen said that he used to be frustrated by the interruptions to his ministry – until he realized that the interruptions were his ministry. This day, ask God to surprise you through the interruptions. How might this change your responses to them? How might God work through those interruptions to touch your life? How might God work through you to touch those who interrupt your day?
 
Wednesday: In Philippians 3:13-14, Paul says that he forgets what lies behind and presses on towards God’s call to him in Christ Jesus. What might God want you to forget today? Is there some area of life in which you need to forgive? To be forgiven? Do you need to let go of some worries for the future? This day, ask Jesus to help you let go of these so that you can focus more clearly on him.
 
Thursday: Part of giving our lives to God is realizing that we are already dead. In Romans 6:3, Paul writes, “All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.” This day, thank Jesus for his death on the cross for you. Ask Jesus to help you to die to the life of sin and to experience his resurrection, his new life in your life.
 
Friday: In Martin Luther’s Morning Prayer (from his Small Catechism), he encourages us to commend ourselves to God, as Jesus did on the cross (Luke 23:46). Join Luther in this prayer for today: “Into your hands [O God] I commend myself: my body, my soul, and all that is mine.”
 
Saturday: As you spend Sabbath time with friends and family, thank God for the gift of life. Thank God for gift of new life in Christ Jesus. And thank God for the opportunity to give that life in service to God and to others. There is no higher calling than this – the calling God gave to you in your baptism! And it’s all because of Jesus…

Week 3: Focus Our Finances
Five minutes with God each day
 
Monday: Psalm 24:1 reminds us that “the earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it.” This runs counter to our culture which says that we own our “stuff”: our homes, cars, finances, even our lives. How might God remind you today that all you have, and all you are, belongs to God?
 
Tuesday: In 1 Timothy 6:17, Paul reminds us that God “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” This day, thank God for all the gifts that God provides you: a warm place to live, healthy food and drink, the breath you take in each moment, even your life itself. How might you live this day in gratitude?
 
Wednesday: Paul addresses 1 Timothy 6:17-19 to “those who in the present age are rich.” Do you think of yourself as rich? Compared to whom? Give thanks to God for your “riches” today. (By the way, our culture is extremely good in making us think we are not rich. But compared to the rest of the world, we certainly are rich: go to www.globalrichlist.com for some perspective.)
 
Thursday: In Deuteronomy 26:2, the Israelites are told that when the time of the harvest begins, they are to take “some of the first of the fruit of all the ground” and present it as an offering to God. How might you give from the “first fruits” of what you receive? How would this differ from giving “last fruits”? Would it make a difference in how much you were able to give?
 
Friday: In 1 Timothy 6:18, Paul encourages us to be “generous and ready to share.” What does generosity look like in your life? Is it giving a tithe, 10% of your income? Is it more than that? Ask God to help you be generous this day, so that you may “take hold of the life that really is life” (1 Timothy 6:19). Thank God for the generosity of Jesus, who gave his very life – everything – for you.
 
Saturday: This day, as you spend Sabbath time with friends and family, consider giving from a longer perspective. How might God want you to give, not just from your regular income, but from your assets? Your estate? To what causes might God want you to give? How might you leave a legacy of generosity for your loved ones?

Week 2: Focus Our Gifts
Five minutes with God each day
 
Monday: In Mark 1:35-38, Jesus goes out to a “deserted place” in the morning to pray. Through his prayer to God, he learns that God wants to change his plans so that he can “proclaim the message” in other towns, “for that is what I came out to do.” What does God want you to do this day? How might God change your plans?
 
Tuesday: When some people are asked about their spiritual gifts, they think they don’t have any, yet the Bible is clear: the Spirit brings out spiritual gifts “in everyone” (1 Cor. 12:6). What gifts has God given you? (Note: gifts aren’t limited to so-called “religious” ones – preaching, teaching, etc. God doesn’t just work in church! J )
 
Wednesday: Romans 15:2 says, “Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor.” How might God want you to use your gifts for caring for your neighbors today? Who might these neighbors be for you?
 
Thursday: Fredrick Buechner once said that your “calling” is where your deepest longing and the world’s deepest need meet. What issue or need in the world are you most passionate about? How might God want you to meet that need in your neighbor today?
 
Friday: Martin Luther was famous for expanding the idea of “vocation.” In his day, the only “vocations” people talked about were religious ones (nuns, monks, priests, etc.); Luther expanded the idea to include most of life’s roles, including family (mom, dad, child, brother, sister) and work. In which of your many vocations might God be calling you to serve today?
 
Saturday: This day, ask God to help you be unbusy. Offer this day, or part of this day (even five minutes!), as Sabbath to God. Focus on simple blessings – family, friendships, food, a good book, or whatever gives you rest and joy. Give thanks to God for the many gifts God has placed in your life.

Week 1: Focus Our Time
Five minutes with God each day
 
Monday: 1 Cor. 3:23 says, “You belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.” How might Jesus want you to use your day? Ask him in prayer. Close with the Lord’s Prayer, noting especially the Third Petition, “Your will be done, on earth as in heaven.”
 
Tuesday: Matt. 5:14 says, “You are the light of the world.” How might you shine God’s light for someone else today? Ask Jesus to fill you with his light, to shine through you so that others might feel his love.
 
Wednesday: Gal. 5:22-23 says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” How might God be working to make the “soil of your soul” more fertile? Ask God to make your life fruitful for God’s sake today.
 
Thursday: Gal. 6:2 says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” How might you help another person bear their burden today? Ask God in prayer. Perhaps you might just sit and listen – Wayne Muller calls this “being Sabbath for another.”
 
Friday: Ps. 105:1 says, “O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.” How has God touched you during this week? Give thanks to God this morning for all that God has done for you: life, family, home, labor, Jesus and his love…
 
Saturday: This day, ask God to help you be unbusy. Offer this day, or part of this day (even five minutes!), as Sabbath to God. Focus on simple blessings – family, friendships, food, a good book, or whatever gives you rest and joy.