Dothan Vineyard Church
Pastors Daily Text for 40 Days of Community
Start anytime with Pastor's Daily texts. 40 Days of community goes from October 30th to December 8th. Be sure to read the daily devotional here.
40 Days of Community Day 1: 40 Days of Community- Day 1 - someone once said let’s keep the main thing the main thing. That’s exactly what this 40 Days is going to focus on. Learning to love with the God kind of Love is not easy. It is unnatural for us. Real love is opposite our natural tendencies. That’s why we must LEARN to love. On this spiritual journey together we are going to learn to love in 40 different ways. Each daily reading will focus on one of these. Take the time to think about it during the day. I am glad you are in this journey with me. Welcome! Remember the daily devotional is a free download on dothanvineyard.com l’ll drop by your inbox tomorrow- “Pasta” Lyle
40 Days of Community Day 2: There is a lot to like about today’s devotional. The gushy, conditional love the world presents is far from the God kind of love. We are commanded to love one another as Christ loved us. Love is a decision, love is an act of obedience. We must choose to love, not who to love. Jesus pushes the definition of love to a higher level, where behavior and beliefs combine into godly action. Jesus is saying we must be to one another what He is to us. That’s a high standard but one that can be accomplished through the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. (Rom 5:5) Day 2 deserves a reread of the devotional. And even another read before we go to bed tonight.
40 Days of Community Day 3: We love God by loving others. I Jn 4:20 says that if we can’t love other believers who we can see, how can we love God who we can’t see. A great question – What does the way we show love to others say about our love for God? Loving others the God kind of way means yielding preferences, comfort, goals, security, money, energy or time for the benefit of someone else.
40 Days of Community Day 4: Someone once said if you were arrested for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you? The Bible tells us that one of the most important evidences of being a Christian is that we love the family of believers. I Jn 3:14 "If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life." We when become a child of God, something miraculous happens in the realm of our heart, our spirit - we pass out of spiritual death into spiritual life. We now have the same kind of life that God has. We have His love, and like God, we no longer are selective about who we love. If you have no love for others, or you easily get offended or are unmerciful, then its time to ask oneself 'am I really walking in all that God has made me?' Walking in God's love is the most freeing life there is.
40 Days of Community Day 5: The church is not an organization, institution, business, or club - its a family you belong to. It's the sense of family togetherness that allows us to build authentic community. Being "family' means we learn and grow in a deep and unwavering commitment to support one another no matter how rough it gets. There are 3 ways spiritual family teaches us to love. Find out in today's devotional at http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/5b8aff_9ea9e45e309c4f29ae480e8d42df3d38.pdf
40 Days of Community Day 6: This life is practice for an eternity of living out the love of God towards each other. Its like spring training in the sport of baseball; we are practicing love in this life for a bigger event ahead, kind of like the World Series of Heaven. God makes use of everything we go through in this life, pain/suffering, joy/comfort, opposition/cooperation - to transform us into people who walk and live in the love of God. The stakes are enormous and the results will last forever. Dig into today's devotional and allow it to speak deep to your heart and life. http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/5b8aff_9ea9e45e309c4f29ae480e8d42df3d38.pdf
40 Days of Community Day 7: In John 13:35 Jesus gave unbelievers an invitation to judge us . . . shocking isn't it? That's right, it is shocking and it really holds us accountable to God. He gave unbelievers the right to judge our authenticity by how we love our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. No one wants to be a part of something that adds another problem to their life . . . so if the world sees the family of God can't get along then guess what conclusion they will come to? Find out in today's devotional what the influence of our church really is in our city. Read it here http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/5b8aff_e09e0b66fe5a4dc4bf1a0d7804bd19d9.pdf
40 Days of Community Day 8: Love cares about the destiny of others. If you or I knew the cure to a deadly disease and kept quiet about it, that would not be love. Its easy to get complacent sharing the gospel with others. But it is also a very unloving thing to do to keep quiet about our faith to those who are in danger of perishing. Until we decide to care about the destiny of others around us we will not invest the time, effort, prayer, that it takes to reach them for Jesus. Today's devotional gives us help in how to love others who do not know Christ. http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/5b8aff_e09e0b66fe5a4dc4bf1a0d7804bd19d9.pdf
40 Days of Community Day 9: We is more powerful than me. When it comes to reaching others for Christ its a process. Some water, some plant, some cultivate and some reap. When we see ourselves as a part of a team effort to reach others it make the job a lot easier, it takes away the pressure to perform. Which role will you have in bringing someone coming to Christ? If we will pray, then be aware what God is doing around others who need Christ, and then act in a natural way in obedience to God's promptings, sharing the good news with others is a joy not a job. We do have to be intentional and today's devotional gives us some good insights. Who can we help in the process of coming to know Jesus? http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/5b8aff_e09e0b66fe5a4dc4bf1a0d7804bd19d9.pdf
40 Days of Community Day 10: Todays devotional is off the chart. What an absolutely revolutionary teaching on hospitality. It defines Christian hospitality, its differences to secular hospitality, its purpose, and its command from our Lord. Please take time to read this and meditate on this devotional. I believe it is life changing. Let me know what you think? http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/5b8aff_e09e0b66fe5a4dc4bf1a0d7804bd19d9.pdf
40 Days of Community day 11: Jesus knew that accepting people was not the same as accepting their sins. As the saying goes, "love the sinner, not the sin." Vineyard cut its teeth on "Come as you are, you'll be loved." While everyone was putting Zacchaeus down, Jesus reached out to him and called him by name. The gift of accepting Zacchaeus caused him to turn his life around. Accepting one another is one of our "one another" commands. It is life changing when its done in the name of Christ. Read today's devotional - its good manna from heaven.
40 Days of Community Day 12: Jesus modeled friendship with his disciples but also becoming friends with those who needed to be friends with God. We earn the right to tell people the good news of Jesus by building a bridge with them . . . that bridge is a relationship. It takes time to build some level of trust before others will allow you to cross the bridge to their heart. Who do you know in the church and outside our church who you could build a bridge to? Today's devotional gives us encouragement to be a bridge builder to others.
40 Days of Community Day 13: People know we love them when we show we love them. Who can you show the love of Christ with in a practical way? We have a great opportunity to do that tomorrow as we gather together as a church body. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow! I John 3:18
DAY 14: As children of God, our lives take on a different role: representatives of Jesus. Ambassadors for Christ. What are the implications of this? The scripture says we no longer live, but Christ lives in us. Today's devotional gives us good insight into our roles as an Ambassador for Christ. Enjoy!
Day 15: We were designed for relationships, formed for fellowship, created for community. What was in God's heart when He wired us this way? How do we benefit from being a connected part of the Body of Christ? Today's devotional paves the way.
Day 16: Commitment makes us secure. Commitment gives credibility. Synonyms: dedication, devotion, allegiance, loyalty, faithfulness, and fidelity. We admire people because of their commitments. Such as a teacher, "Her commitment to her students make the parents happy." What role does commitment play in the family of God? Today's devotional explores commitment.