Action This Day

“So my people come pretending to be sincere and sit before you. They listen to your words, but they have no intention of doing what you say…You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say, but they don’t act on it!” – Ezekiel 33:31-32. 

What does a successful Christian decade look like? The purpose of the Decade of Impact series is that all of us experience success in our Christian life over the next ten years. Success in the Christian life is being strong in the faith and capable of sharing that with others. But how do we get there? What are the snares and pitfalls with which we have to be concerned. 

What Ezekiel describes above is one of the possible snares: People want to hear the word of God preached. In many cases, they enjoy what is said and the style of the person preaching. We go to church and listen to the message and the music and we leave feeling recharged for another week. For that moment when the music is playing we sing hallelujah like we really mean it, but is that moment left behind when we leave? We have to be careful of mechanical religion where we come to church to punch our cards or to socialize with others. But success in this decade depends on the willingness of the Christian to put forth a wholehearted effort in living for Christ.

How then, do we walk out unwavering joy-filled faith every day, determined to let go of the things that keep us from experiencing abundant life and fulfilling the plans God has for us? 

The Bible, however, speaks about an intimate and dynamic relationship with Jesus. He is, after all, a person, not a “theological concept;” not someone who once lived on the earth and now is far away, but a person who is alive and can be found every day of the week.  He has all the power and grace to make your relationship with Him be full of life, not just something that comes alive on Sunday.   

Imagine waking up every single day convinced that the twenty-four hours ahead of you are a precious gift to be used wisely. Now imagine that you know exactly how to spend them to be a force for God’s good. All too often we wander through life without appreciating the gift of every day we’ve been given. That leads to an unsatisfying life, missed opportunities to experience the joy of being in sync with God, and days marked with apathy instead of passion. Our time on earth is short. We should want to make every moment count—not only because we aren’t guaranteed the next one, but also because this is exactly how our Savior spent His time here.

Let’s make every day count for God this decade. 

Discussion Questions:

1. How do you live out the hope of the gospel every day?
2. What can you do to make God a priority every day this week?