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20514 Man in Mirror

church. Beyond the obvious, where do you most see the sting of the absence of God’s good news of abundant life through Jesus? It might be in your son’s fifth grade class, or with a group of young ball players, or a scouting troop. It might be your neighbors or coworkers or customers. God might call you to play a particular role when you see people suffering because they haven’t yet been impacted by the gospel. I challenge you to prayerfully list the areas where you have influence. Then ask God if that is your area of responsibility? Has He prepared you in advance to do good works in that arena?  WEEK Week 1 17 Wednesday—October 4•What Is My Area of Influence? For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 8:10) All the way back to Adam, God created men with a desire for purpose. He planned that we would participate in His plan to grow His kingdom. Where are the areas of responsibility in your life? Some of those areas will be obvious. For instance, if you are married, then you have responsibility for your marriage and your family. You also have responsibility in your workplace and in your Are you willing to accept the challenge at the conclusion of today’s devotional? Why or why not? If you do accept it, list the areas where you believe God has uniquely prepared you to accept responsibility for growing His kingdom. Daily Reading: Jeremiah 2:31–4:18, Colossians 1:1–17, Psalm 76:1–12, Proverbs 24:21–22 Thursday—October 5•Active, Not Passive Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. (Genesis 3:1–4) God created men for purpose and responsibility. He also intended for men to be active rather than passive. In today’s passage, the serpent talked directly to Eve, but Scripture implies that Adam stood with her. (See verse 6.) Adam did nothing to resist the serpent. He didn’t step in front of Eve. He heard both the serpent and Eve misquote God’s requirements (described in Genesis 2:15- 17), yet he didn’t correct them. We all face a temptation to passivity. We want to avoid conflict. Instead of stepping up, many men step back. As a result, they feel impotent in some of the most important areas of life. If we aren’t willing to confront and talk through issues in our most precious relationships, then we just float through life, following whatever current life has us in at the moment. God made us for more. He made us to be men who create, produce, shape and transform. That can only happen as we work in the areas where God has called us to be responsible. Passivity will not contribute to fruitfulness.  WEEK Week 1 Like Adam, men often are susceptible to the temptation to be passive rather than active. Describe a time when you faced that temptation. How did you handle it? What was the outcome? Daily Reading: Jeremiah 4:19–6:15, Colossians 1:18–2:7, Psalm 77:1–20, Proverbs 24:23–25


20514 Man in Mirror
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