By: Kelly Needham - Squarespace

DEATH TO SELF a 5 day devotional

By: Kelly Needham

DAY 1 - OTHERS NEEDS COME FIRST

Written by Kelly Needham

CONNECT Spend a few minutes saying “Good Morning” to God in your own way and telling him about how you are feeling today. Ask Him to speak to you through this devotional. GET IN THE WORD Read Paul’s words to the Philippians in Philippians 2:3‐11 What verse in this passage sticks out to you the most? And why? Reread verses 3 and 4. How many things are we allowed to do out of selfishness? Whose interests are we supposed to look out for? These two little verses are some of the most challenging in the whole Bible. Although very simple commands that we have often heard, it is incredibly hard to actually consider other people as more important than ourselves. When I start to look out for the interests of others in my life, I can feel my old, sinful self starting to die. When I let someone go ahead of me in line, when I let someone else have the last cookie, when I walk back to the car to get what someone else forgot even though I’m tired, something in me screams, “No! Me first! Aren’t my needs more important than yours?” Is it hard for you to consider others as better than yourself? Why or why not? Today, what can you do to consider others as better than yourself and to “keep your eye out” for the interests of them?


According to this passage, who is our example in living this way? Who’s attitude should we have? If anyone deserved anything, it’s Jesus. He is perfect, He is God, and He deserves to be worshiped and served. Verse 6 says He didn’t consider His equality with God something to be grasped (or held on to). He didn’t cling to the glory and worship HE deserved as God. What did He do instead (v. 7‐8)? Read Philippians 2:14‐15. What else does Paul command the Philippians to do? Why should we do this according to verse 15? Let’s shine like the stars today! Let’s be the light in the world around us, living as children of God! RESPOND and LISTEN Take some time to tell God your thoughts on this passage. Dialogue with Him about your feelings. Respond to what He has said through His Word. Then take some time to listen to Him. Sit quietly for a few minutes and know that He is there with you, as real as the air you are breathing. DAILY CHALLENGE Today, strive to actually consider the people in your life as more important than you. Help them BEFORE you help yourself. Consider your family or roommates as more important than you. Look out for the interests of other people today. Ask your coworker if they need help.


DAY 2 - DON’T JUST LOVE YOUR FRIENDS CONNECT Spend a few minutes saying “Good Morning” to God in your own way and telling him about how you are feeling today. Ask Him to speak to you through this devotional. GET IN THE WORD It’s normal and natural to be drawn to those who you know and feel comfortable around. We walk into the cafeteria and immediately look for who we know and who we want to sit by. But in today’s passage of scripture, Jesus challenges our tendency to only love those who love us. Read from Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew 5:43‐47. What command does Jesus give to His listeners in verse 44? Who are the enemies in your life today? Who are the people in your life who you don’t care about because of who they are or how they treat you? Pray for those people you just listed right now! Just stop and take a moment to lift them up in prayer and ask God to move in their lives and to give them a great relationship with Himself. Ask God to bless them today. Was that hard to do? How did you feel when you were praying for them? Why does Jesus tell us to love and pray for our enemies according to verse 45? Even God causes good things to happen to the evil people in the world. He still causes the sun to shine down on them and sends refreshing rains to them. It is good for us to be like our Father and be loving and kind to those who are our enemies. According to verses 46 and 47, what 2 actions does Jesus criticize his listeners for doing? 1. 2.


If we only care about our friends and only say “Hi” to our friends, we are no better than the rest of this world. Even the non‐Christians do that. But we have Christ in us, and Jesus calls us to a higher standard: to love and care about everyone, not just our friends (those who love us). We are called to care about everyone just as much as we care about our friends. We are called to say “Hello! How are you?” to those we don’t know and aren’t friends with. What inhibits you from saying Hi to people you don’t know or acquaintances you don’t know that well? It’s easy to fall into the routine of only loving our good friends. What can you do to love others who aren’t your friends as much as you love your friends? RESPOND and LISTEN Take some time to tell God your thoughts on this passage. Dialogue with Him about your feelings. Respond to what He has said through His Word. Then take some time to listen to Him. Sit quietly for a few minutes and know that He is there with you, as real as the air you are breathing. DAILY CHALLENGE Meet someone new today. When you go to school and eat lunch, don’t just “greet your brothers” but sit with someone who you don’t know, even if they are completely different than you. Care about your barista or waitress today just as much as your friends. Ask them how they are doing today (and really want to hear their answer).

DAY 3 - NO RIGHTS


CONNECT Spend a few minutes saying “Good Morning” to God in your own way and telling him about how you are feeling today. Ask Him to speak to you through this devotional. GET IN THE WORD We live in a culture that is all about “our rights,” and what we are entitled to. If your friend treats you bad, you have the right to ignore them. If someone at work cheats you out of hours, you have a right to be mad. If your parents say no to something you want to do, you have the right to talk bad about them at school. And many of your friends will encourage this idea of retaliation. “I can’t believe she did that to you! How rude! Let’s not sit with her anymore at lunch.” But what does the Word of God say and what does it look like to really follow the commands of Jesus? Read Jesus’ words from His “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew 5:38‐42. Although we don’t have a law stating “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth,” we often see this idea in our culture. If you hurt or harm me, then you need to pay me back for what you’ve done. What are some of our modern day “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” rules? Jesus describes 4 situations in these verses. What are they? 1. Someone slaps you in the face. 2. 3. 4. Which one of these situations would frustrate you the most if it happened to you? Why? Would it be hard for you to respond the way that Jesus commands us to? Why?


While we might not have people in our lives that are out to harm us, that doesn’t mean that we don’t need to consider this passage of scripture for our lives today. These are a few rights that I am tempted to cling to on mission trips:  If I have been working really hard, I have the right to sit down and rest while my work team continues to work.  If I finished the job that was assigned to me, I don’t need to help the other members of my work team because that’s their job and they should finish it themselves. It’s not my fault they are slower workers than me. What rights do you cling to? What will you do to give up those rights today? RESPOND and LISTEN Take some time to tell God your thoughts on this passage. Dialogue with Him about your feelings. Respond to what He has said through His Word. Then take some time to listen to Him. Sit quietly for a few minutes and know that He is there with you, as real as the air you are breathing. DAILY CHALLENGE Go the extra mile for those around you today. If someone on at work or in your family asks you for help (to go a mile with him), then help him, and then ask what else you can do. Don’t cling to your rights, but rather give up your rights and be a servant to those around you.

DAY 4 - GOD’S GLORY, NOT OURS


CONNECT Spend a few minutes saying “Good Morning” to God in your own way and telling him about how you are feeling today. Ask Him to speak to YOU through this devotional. GET IN THE WORD We all like knowing that we’re doing a good job. When I really evaluate my heart’s motives, I often find that what I really want is to be “the really spiritual one.” I long to be the one who people say, “She really loves God!” or “Kelly’s made such a big difference here!” My motive should be love for God and love for others. But I still need a check up often to get my heart in the right place. Today’s scripture warns us of our tendency to seek the compliments and approval of people. Read Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:1‐6, 16‐18 According to the passage, for what reasons are we tempted to do good spiritual things publicly? What solution does Jesus give for this problem of doing spiritual things publicly? What is our reward when we do things in secret? What 3 things should we do secretively? 1. 2. 3. What things are you tempted to do so that others will see you and know how “spiritual” you are?


Often we can get competitive in our spirituality, always comparing ourselves to our peers. This is a trap we must be careful never to get caught in. We are all one team, one body, one unified people who love Christ more than anything. Do you get compare yourself to your peers spiritually? Why? We need to view our brothers and sisters in Christ as people on our team who need our love and support, not our comparisons and criticism. What can you do today to make sure you have this attitude toward your Christian friends and peers? Read Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 10:31. We are called to do EVERYTHING in our lives for the purpose that God would be the one who looks good in the end, not us. We want others to see our lives and say, “You’re God is great” not “you are great.” When we do things secretively, or anonymously, we lose the ability to get any praise for it. It is good to do things secretively every now and then so that no one knows the good we are doing. That way, we can be sure that God is the only one who gets the praise and that our only motivation is the glory of God. RESPOND and LISTEN Take some time to tell God your thoughts on this passage. Dialogue with Him about your feelings. Respond to what He has said through His Word. Then take some time to listen to Him. Sit quietly for a few minutes and know that He is there with you, as real as the air you are breathing. DAILY CHALLENGE Find a way to serve someone secretively this week. Ask God to give you a creative way to do something that only He will see. Maybe you could get to work early and make coffee for the office. Or pick up the trash you find at your job while no one is looking. Leave an anonymous note of encouragement for someone in your life. Be creative and find a way to do something good where only God can get the glory, not you.

DAY 5 - DON’T HAVE FAVORITES


CONNECT Spend a few minutes saying “Good Morning” to God in your own way and telling him about how you are feeling today. Ask Him to speak to you through this devotional. GET IN THE WORD Read James’ words in James 2:1‐9. This is a similar message to loving your enemies, but this passage is specifically dealing with other Christians, the body of Christ. We are called to greet and love everyone we meet. But with other Christians, we should not only love and greet everyone, but also never pick and choose our “favorite” people to be around. According to verses 2‐3, the readers of James’ letter were making divisions between those who came into the church by showing some people special attention. What were they making divisions based on? Are there any divisions in churches and youth groups today? If so, what are they? Do you have a tendency to pay more attention to certain people at church or RPM? Who are they? Why do pay more attention to them? Many of us naturally gravitate toward those people who we view as “rich” in social status, “rich” in personality, or “rich” in spirituality. We need to heed this warning in James to make sure we aren’t picking favorites, but having the same amount of concern for everyone in the body of Christ. Who did God choose to be rich in faith and inherit His kingdom (v. 5)? What “royal” law does James quote?


How can “loving your neighbor as yourself” be a remedy for favoritism? What does verse 9 say about showing favoritism? Do you show favoritism to anyone in your life? Do you prefer to be around certain friends or peers more than others? We need to make sure that we aren’t picking favorites. While it’s good to have a small group of friends that you can be real and honest with, you shouldn’t “favor” them over everyone else. It’s good to get to know other people in the body of Christ that aren’t your best friends. Have you ever thought that it might not be good to only talk to, sit with, and hang out with your good friends? Why isn’t it good to only associate with your friends? RESPOND and LISTEN Take some time to tell God your thoughts on this passage. Dialogue with Him about your feelings. Respond to what He has said through His Word. Then take some time to listen to Him. Sit quietly for a few minutes and know that He is there with you, as real as the air you are breathing. DAILY CHALLENGE Today, make it a point to get to know someone new. Sit with someone you don’t know as well at church on Sunday. Eat lunch with someone who you normally avoid. Make plans to get together with someone new at your church.