Spiritual Partnership Activity
Practical ideas for strengthening your trust in Christ
‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,  your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:9-10  NIV
  
  It’s easy for us to fall into the trap of treating God like he is our butler, as if his reason for existence is to make sure we are happy.  We may know that this is not true theologically, but we slip into that mode very easily.  When things are going well, we may be grateful and find ourselves congratulating God for the good job he is doing in our lives.  When things are not going well, we ask God to come to our lives and make things better.
   This is not a recipe for enjoying life with God.  Just as we expect people to accept us as we are if they want to be friends with us, so we must accept God as he is if we want to enjoy life and friendship with him.   God is the Lord over everything.  He is our creator.  He is all wise and knows what is best for us. 
   How do we prevent  ourselves from falling into the trap of treating God like a butler?   It has a lot to do with our communication with God.  When we talk to God, are we always asking him to do our will or are we seeking to do his?   Each day  this week, slowly , thoughtfully and honestly pray through the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:9-13.  As you do, you will begin to see your view of God shift.  God will answer your prayer by increasing your desire to do his will and he will help you discover that his ways really are always the best ways.
April 8, 2012
All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
I John 3:3  NIV

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18  NIV
  
  More books than would fill an Amazon warehouse have been written about how to change your life.  Many  of these books are about changing the circumstances of your life.  They are about changing what you have, what you do or what others do to you or for you.  They certainly have their place, but the most important books are about changing who you are, your character.
  Although I may be accused of oversimplifying the concept of change, I believe there are only two fundamental principles of change.  
   Principle #1 - All of us are constantly changing by becoming like what is
   important to us.  This is why helping our kids choose good friends is so important. 
  Their friends will be important to them and they will become like their friends.  This
   is also why, in many good marriages, spouses tend to become more like each other.  
   All that is important to us influences who we are.  We think about, even daydream 
   about, what is important to us and what we think about determines who we become.
   Principle #2 – The quality of our change is determined by the quality of what is
   important to us.  If we choose friends with poor habits, then we will change into
   people who have poor habits.  If we idolize people who do not consider God to be 
   very important, then God will not be very important to us. We can’t argue with this. 
   It just is what it is.
The Scriptures above written by John and Paul are in harmony with these two principles.  They recognize that the most beautiful, pure and glorious object is the Lord.  When we contemplate God in his glory and believe that he is working in us to make us like himself, we are amazingly transformed into his likeness.
  This week, set aside some time each day to contemplate the beauty and goodness of God.  Think about how pure he is and how great his love is.  Think about how great it would be to like him.  What you will be doing is worship.  And that, in a nutshell, is principle #2 – We become what we worship.
April 15, 2012
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us— 2 so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.  
                Psalm 67:1-2  NIV

  One of the ways that God’s fame can increase is by God showering his grace on his people and  them giving glory to God when people see God’s blessing on their lives.  Three things need to happen for this take place.  Two of these are our responsibility and one is God’s responsibility.
  First, we need to pray for God’s blessing on people’s lives and that his blessing would be obvious to others.  This doesn’t mean we just pray for health and wealth for ourselves and for our brothers and sisters in Christ, although God’s blessing certainly can take that form.  God’s blessing can also be seen when his people exhibit great joy or peace in the face of suffering.  God’s blessing can be seen in how bosses treat their employees.  God’s blessing can be seen in unselfish serving.  We need to pray for God’s blessing to be poured out on ourselves and on our Christian brothers and sisters in all the circumstances of life, both good and bad.
  Second, God has to supply the grace and blessing.  We can’t control this any way, but Jesus, and all of Scripture, encourages us to pray for it.  I know of a woman currently in prison for her faith in Cambodia who is bringing fame to God’s name because of her peace in prison and her gracious treatment of other prisoners.  Many people are praying for her to have this fullness of God’s grace in her life.  It is similar to how God used the Apostle Paul when he was in prison for Christ.
  Third, when people notice God’s grace and blessing in our lives, we need to boldly give God the glory for it.  Don’t take the credit for the good things in your life, confidently acknowledge that “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father.” (James 1:17)
  This week, take two steps with God.  First, choose three people and pray for others to notice God’s grace and blessing in their lives and for them to give God glory when it is noticed.  Second, pray for people to notice God’s life and blessing in you and when they do, give him the glory and  thanks for it.
April 22, 2012
  I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.    Psalm 40:8  NIV

  For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
           Philippians 2:13  NIV

  Your come kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
           Matthew 6:10  NIV

  One of the subtle lies that our enemy tells is that God’s primary goal is get us do his will.  While it is certainly true that God wants us to do his will, God is not concerned with forcing us to do his will, nor is God interested in manipulating us into doing his will.
If God really wanted to, he is more than powerful enough to force all of us to do his will, but God is not interested in spending eternity with a bunch of people whom he forces  to do his will.
  What God is most concerned about is bringing about a transformation in us so that we want to do his will.  In other words, God is more concerned about changing our wanting than he is changing our doing.  If he changes our wanting, we will naturally do his will.  The beautiful truth of the gospel teaches us that Jesus sets us free from sin and recreates us into new people who want to do his will.  When we put our trust in Christ, we are forgiven and born again so that our innermost desire is to do God’s will. From the moment we receive Christ, the Holy Spirit starts working in us to strengthen our desire to do God’s will.  Over time, we grow to delight in doing God’s will and discover that doing good really is the good life.
  This week, think and reflect on the three Scripture verses above for a few minutes each day.  You can also use them to guide your prayer.  As you affirm the desire the Holy Spirit has created in you to do God’s will and as you ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen that desire, you will be making progress in “the good life” that you were created to enjoy.
April 29, 2012