blueprint december sampler

8/6/2019 Blueprint December Sampler

1/15

blueprint 1

purposeyour spiritual calling

identitywho does God say you are?

revelationdoes it matter what you believe?

Volume 1 Issue 2 Dec 2011feb 2012

I k n o w t h e p l a n s I h a V e f o r y o u . . . J e r e m i a h 2 9 : 1 1


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*Seasons Greetings

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23100%offonce in a lifetime

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blueprint 3

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55

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Bible Studies7, 11, 17, 19, 27, 31, 37,41, 47, 49, 53, 57, 61

Daily Faith Devos8, 12, 18, 20, 28, 32, 38,42, 48, 50, 54, 58, 62

Timeslice8, 28, 50

Survey59

Books54

purpose&9 fve things you THINK YOU KNOW

ABOUT CHRISTMAS BUT REALLY DONT14 spiritual calling owchart30 a dierent beat...

identity&4

WHICH KIND OF FREE?24 Who are you really? quiz

34 dierent christians, same christ

Revelation&51 how revealing is it?

55 Comortably warm

58 hell is no party

Welcome

WebelievethatGodhasapurposeoryou.

Everyoneoushasauniqueidentity,and

Godhascratedyouridentitytoaccomplish

specifcthingsorHiskingdom.Whatare

yourtalents,yourpassions,yourcallings?

ComeexplorehowGodhasrevealedHisplans

oryou.Discoverthespecifcopportunity

youhavetochangetheworldorGod.

contents

For I know theplans I have for

you, declaresthe Lordplans

to prosperyou and notto harm you,plans to give

you hope anda future.

Jeremiah 29:1 1

toBlueprint,aninte

ractive

christianmagazineforteens.

General Editor

Doug Mauss

Managing Designer

Scot McDonald

With special thanks toRJS Design Studio

Cover Illustrationistockphoto; Scot McDonald

PhotosiStockphoto; Shutterstock; GettyImages; p10 (top right) DougPensinger/Getty Images Sports/Getty Images; p26 Timothy A.Clary/AfP/Getty Images; p30(middle) Jerey Vock/Getty ImagesEntertainment/Getty Images; p34Leigh Davidson; p48 (top) CharlesHewitt/Hulton Archive/GettyImages.Illustrationsp4, 62 Scot McDonald; p20 MarkDemel; p51, 52, 53, 55, 56, 59Stephanie Sheildhouse; p58 ChrisDall

Copyrighted material; permissionrequired to reproduce. All rightsreserved. Printed in South Korea.

All Scripture quotations, unlessotherwise stated, are rom the HolyBible, New International Version,NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984by Biblica, Inc. Used by permissiono Zondervan. All rights reservedworldwide. www.zondervan.com

Contact us with questions,comments, or material. Pleaseprovide your name, age, address,and phone number. All contributionsbecome the property o David CCook.

[email protected]


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4 DEC JAN FEB

Whi h Ki

Nothing in life is free.

his fundmentltruth defines eer

fcet of how the worldworks. From snck

ending mchines,to college tuition, to

the 99 pps for our


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blueprint 5

Sure, you might not think it costs

you anything. After all, you mayvery well go to high school for free,download your music for free, eat your

moms cooking for free. But there arecosts all through the system, whetheryou realize it or not.

That high school you attend ispaid for out of taxes. It has costs

for teachers, materials, athleticuniforms, etc. And people may oftenpirate music, bragging that it didnt

cost them a dime. But it sure costsomething for that original musicianto make, for that studio to produce,

for the local radio station to airallso your ears could benet from thelatest American Idol-popularized tune.

And of course you realize that your

mom had to buy all those groceries,

and spend a fair amount of her timecooking that meal.

Ahh, theres another cost: time.There are only 24 hours in any givenday. And you already spend a third

of those hours sleeping. How are yougoing to spend your precious wakinghours? Or as Kris Allen put it: We

only got 86 400 seconds in a dayto turn it all around or throw it allaway. (Why must all these AmericanIdol songs be so catchy? You can neverget them out of your head!)

Economists put it this way: evenspending your time on something thatis otherwise free has an opportunity

d f F ?

W Ny G 86 400 N Na ay N a aN W a aWay.

cost. Because you could have spentthat time on something else. Letssay a friend had an extra free ticketto a movie, but you had a test the

next day you hadnt studied for. Youdecided to go to the movie because,hey, free movie! But the next day you

get a B on the test instead of the Ayou know you couldve gotten if you

studied. That free movie cost youvaluable time, which cost you a lettergrade, which cost you a lower GPA,

which could conceivably cost you ascholarship. That could turn out to be

one expensive free movie!What about those commercials that

sell large appliances and furniture?

They advertise FREE FOR SIXMONTHS, or promise no paymentsfor a year. Of course, you see the

hidden catch. After six months, theycharge way more than what the pricewould have been if youd just paid forthe futon in cash.

Theres one more misconceptionabout free that people have. Itswhen something is provided free

because of work that somebodysdone. The classic example is a high

school athlete getting a free rideto college, because of their talent. Isthis really free tuition? Not really,

because it still had to be earned. Abetter way of looking at it is that a

phone, everything costs

something.

& I

by Doug Mauss

3 continued on next page


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F avaN j N aK N. aN NN WaNyNG W N a. vyNG NG, G?

college-caliber athlete provides more

value to the college than the cost of histuition.

Say that tuition is $20,000 per

year. But the university fund-raisersthink that if their sport team wins thedivision, alumni will happily donate

about $20 million. By spending the$20,000 on the students tuition,

theyre really earning $19.98 million.Is that free?

Nope, thats just paying you by notcharging you.

A lot of supposedly free things

work on this tuition model. If youget a good grade, maybe your parentstake you out for a nice dinner. If you

perform well in the school play, youget accolades. If youre funny, people

like you. If you make sacrices foryour friends, maybe they wont ditchyou if times ever get hard.

Thats right; even friends arentfree. Theres an assumed quid-pro-quo, the idea that if you invest in a

relationship, the other person willinvest back. How many of your

friends would stay friends with you ifyou never

talked to them,

hung out with them,did nice things for them,shared interests with them,

invited them over?

Relationships are never free.

Though you cant pay for friendship(unless youre in a clich 90s high

school movie), youre still hopingto get a return on your investment.Even if that return is in the form of

something like loyalty.We think we understand the word

free. But in reality, our society has

twisted and warped the concept of

free. Its to the point where if you seean ad on the Internet ashing FreeGift, thats the surest sign its a scam.

We cant trust the wordfree anymore,because the concept has been polluted.

Which is why its so hard to

understand when the Bible tells us thatsalvation is free. We cant take that

statement at face value. Which kindoffree? Deferred payments free? Hidden

fees free? College tuition free?In fact, most Christianseven

the really mature onesarent able

to believe salvation isfree free. Theyautomatically assume that salvationis on the college tuition model. If you

behave good enough, then you getto go to heaven as a reward. They

think, Sure, we dont have topayanything to go to heaven. But webetter go to church, avoid smoking,

donate money, and be nice to homelesspeople!

Partly, this is because so much of

our identity is built around what wehave to do. We dene who we are by

the things we do. We play soccer, orgo to church, or hang out with the emocrowd. We dene ourselves by being

on the honor roll, or in the choir, or bywhat movies we like.

So its hard to get past a no-strings-

attached free thing like salvation. Evenas we admit that its free, we still tryto gure out what were supposed

to do to earn it. Free salvation justdoesnt make sense. Those rules arent

consistent with anything we see onearth. Everything costs something,right?

Its true. Everything does costsomething. Even salvation. The miraclecomes in this: God decided to pay the

cost Himself. Jesus Christs sacrice

on the cross two thousand years agocovered the bill once and for all.

It turns out that salvation is free

like Mom cooking dinner is free. Shehappily buys the groceries and puts inthe time because she loves you. Even

though it costs her something, shedoesnt pass those costs onto you. Youdont have to earn dinner. (You might

have chores and other things youwork for, but dinnerdinneris

free.)It costs God something to pay the

price for sin. But because He loves us,He chose not to pass those costs ontous.

Of course, its benecial for usto do good things. God likes it whenwere nice to homeless people. Just

like your mom likes it when you takeout the trash. But it doesnt make you

any more deserving of heaven. Doinggood things helps make you a betterperson. But your heavenly entry fee

has already been paid for you. Andyou never have to earn it back. Weknow this because God gets to make

the rules for His universe. And heresHis rule:

God saved you by his grace whenyou believed. And you cant takecredit for this; it is a gift from God.

Salvation is not a reward for the goodthings we have done, so none of us canboast about it (Eph 2:8-9, ). p

6 DEC JAN FEB


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here

Acts 26:9-209I too was convinced that I ought to do allthat was possible to oppose the name ofJesus of Nazareth. 10And that is just whatI did in Jerusalem. On the authority of thechief priests I put many of the saints inprison, and when they were put to death, Icast my vote against them. 11Many a timeI went from one synagogue to another tohave them punished, and I tried to force

them to blaspheme. In my obsessionagainst them, I even went to foreign citiesto persecute them. 12On one of these journeys I was goingto Damascus with the authority andcommission of the chief priests. 13Aboutnoon, O king, as I was on the road, I sawa light from heaven, brighter than the sun,blazing around me and my companions.14We all fell to the ground, and I hearda voice saying to me in Aramaic, Saul,Saul, why do you persecute me? It ishard for you to kick against the goads.15Then I asked, Who are you, Lord?

I am Jesus, whom you are

persecuting, the Lord replied.16

Nowget up and stand on your feet. I haveappeared to you to appoint you as aservant and as a witness of what youhave seen of me and what I will showyou. 17I will rescue you from your ownpeople and from the Gentiles. I amsending you to them 18to open their eyesand turn them from darkness to light,and from the power of Satan to God,so that they may receive forgiveness ofsins and a place among those who aresanctified by faith in me. 19So then, King Agrippa, I was notdisobedient to the vision from heaven.20

First to those in Damascus, then tothose in Jerusalem and in all Judea,and to the Gentiles also, I preachedthat they should repent and turn to Godand prove their repentance by theirdeeds.

Acts26:9-20

Paul'sprofile 1

B i b l e

S t u d ylesson 1 Bible Study

WhowastheapostlePaul?Whywashesozealousin

spreading theGospel?In todays texthe describedhisconversion toH

erodAgrippa.

Usethe verses inparentheses tocompletePaulsprofle.

&NAME:Saul(alsocalledPaul)

&BIRTHDATE:

Approximatelya.d.1(Wedontknowthisorsure,but

accordingto

chronologiesbasedonknowndates,Paulwaslikelyinhisearlythirtiesatthetimeohisconversion.)

&BIRTHPLACE:(Acts21:39)

& ADDRESS:LivedinJerusalematthetimeohisconve

rsion.

&FAMILYBACKGROUND: (Rom.11:1)

&CITIZENSHIP:(Acts 22:25-29)

&EDUCATION:(Acts22:3)

&RELIGIONBEFOREHIS CONVERSION:(Acts26:5;Gal.1:13-14; Phil. 3:4-6)

&OCCUPATION:(Acts 18:1-3)

&EARLYEXPERIENCES:(Acts 7:54-60;26:9-12)

&DETAILSOFCONVERSIONEXPERIENCE:(Acts26:12-19)

&PURPOSEOFHISMISSION:(Acts26:16-20)

&VIEWOFWHATSINVOLVED INCHRISTIANLIVING:(Eph.4:1-4)


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de

vos

If anyone isin Christ, he is a

new creation; the

old has gone, thenew has come!2 Corinthians 5:17

monWhat is the calling we have received?

Read 1 Peter 2:9-10 and 1 John 3:2 for starters. Get

a concordance and look up other references in the

Epistles to called or calling. Meditate on what

you learn.

tuesRead Ephesians 4:1-4. Paul was under

house arrest in Rome when he wrote this letter to

the Ephesians. Why does he call himself a prisoner

for the Lord? How does our view of ourselves affect our

priorities and choices in life?

wedWhat does your life say about you? If you really believed

you were a child of God and destined for perfection, how

would that affect the way you live today?

thursSometimes Christians are anxious to live a life worthy

of their calling to holiness but gloss over areas of sin in

their lives. What old things do you need to let go of?

friAn important thing to remember is that

we are new creations. Thats why its

so important to get rid of the sin in

our lives. Is there something you need

to confess? Ask God to forgive your

sins today.

satReview what you learned about your

calling in Christ. Remember who you

are today. Youre a new creation.

{

}Pauls

authorityinth

eSpiritwass

ogreat

thatevenhis USED

KLEENEXCOU

LD

HEALPEOPLE.

other stuff was happeningwhile Paul was writing letters

Tent-maker by day, adventurer for thLord by . . . well, um, byday.At night he had angels break him out of jail cells.

Paulwasoncemistakenforagod.

Specifically,thegodHermes.Afterhehadconvincedthe

peoplehewasjustaman,theythentriedtokillhim.To

quoteWinstonZeddemore,Whensomeoneasksifyou

areagod,yousay,Yes!

Inbetweenw

ritingletters

,

Paulwasget

tingintolots

of

troubleinth

enameofJe

sus.Hewas

beaten,lashed,and

shipwrecked

multipletime

s.Hesurvive

dastoning.A

lso,

atonepoint

hewascoldandn

aked.Histor

ydoesntsay

whoitwas

thatstolehis

clothes,butw

ecanassum

ethatpersonhassince

cometoreg

retit.

PaulangeredthepeopleinDamascussomuchthathehadtoescapethecity

inthemiddleofthenight,bybeingloweredinabreadbasket

fromtheouterwalls.HelatertriedtocapturetheRoadRunnerwithanAcmeanvil.

8 DEC JAN FEB


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You Know About

Christmas...

ThingsYou Think

(ive)

Do

nT

ButReally

blueprint 93 continued on page 10

& C

5. It Happened inDecember

There it was, December 24th, Zero ..

Snow sprinkled gently on the rooftops, while

Jewish kids went ice-skating on the Dead

Sea, before making snowmen in the yard, and

drinking mugs of kosher hot chocolate before

bedtime. The next day, after an eventful

delivery, Joseph headed down to the local

Roman Consulate and got a nice ocial birth

certicate scroll, saying December XXV, in the

XXVIIth year of the reign of Caesar Augustus.

First name: Jesus. Last name: Christ.

With the spot for fathers name leftsuspiciously blank...

What really happened:Nobody actually knows what day Jesus was

born. Jews and early Christians cared more

about His death and resurrection than when

He was born. In fact, it was considered pagan

to care about birthdays, because the Roman

Empire made a big deal about birthdays.

I came, I saw, I had cake.

So it wasnt until a couple of centuries

later that people really even started asking

about the date. Most early suggestions were

between March and May. Which makes sense.

Christmas today is a joyful time, to say the

least. From the rst snowake of the season to

the post-Thanksgiving shopping sales, mostof us spend several months anticipating the

big day. But somewhere along the way, our visions of

sugar plums are replaced with just-before-Christmas

nal exams, crowded shopping malls, forced house

decorating, and being made to go to parties wed

rather not attend. And its precisely for those reasons

that most of us feel burned out after the holidays are

over.

And so we nd ourselves reecting on the very rst Christmas,

oh-so-long ago. That original Christmas was a simpler, quieter, more

spiritual time. When we reect on what Christmas truly means, we

nd that our sense of giddiness and anticipation cant be sated with

gifts or shopping bags, or stockings crammed with goodies. When we

clear up our misconceptions about the purpose of Christmas, we ndourselves much more satised with the truth.

So, in the spirit of getting back to the heart of the holiday, weve

compiled a list of common misconceptions of the Christmas season.

As it turns out, a lot of things we think we know about that rst

Christmas are completely untrue. You might realize that a lot of

Christmas pageants, movies (and maybe even our well-intended

Sunday school lessons) have misled us about a lot of the facts of that

rst Christmas. Lets get into what really happened.


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celebrateChristmasin South Africa

Christmas is a summer

holiday. People often use

the Christmas break as an

opportune time for camping.

in Alaska

Christmas songs are ended

with a blessing in the Aleut

language: Mnogaya leta,

which means, God grant

you many years.

in Argentina

the traditional Christmas

beverage is a drink prepared

with different kinds of fruit,

cut into pieces, and mixed

with juice and cider.

in Australia

Christmas celebrations

down under include an

annual televised Carols

by Candlelight concert in

Melbourne.

in Brazil

Papai Noel (or Father

Christmas) is the Brazilian

version of Santa Claus. Since

its hot at Christmas, he

doesnt wear a red fur coat,

but lighter, silk clothes more

appropriate for the summer

heat.

10 DEC JAN FEB

3 continued on page 16

3 5 Things You Think You Know ... continued from page 9

If the shepherds were out with their sheep,

it wouldnt have been winter; it was most

likely spring. But even though that is a logical

conclusion, a spring birthday just never

caught on. Eventually, church leaders decided

on December 25. Why? Well, there are two

theories: either they stole the date from a

pagan holiday, or its because of the power ofmath.

Or maybe they just did this.

You may not realize it, but lots of our current

Christmas traditions are adapted from pagan

religions: the Christmas tree, the Yuletide log,

mistletoe, stockings by the chimney, etc.

So it would make sense for the date to be

adapted from another pagan holiday. In this

case, the Romans worshiped a sun god named

Sol Invictus. They celebrated his day on

December 25. Why would anybody celebrate

a sun god in the middle of winter? Well, as

we all know (or should if we paid attention

in science class!), December 21st is the winter

solstice, the shortest day of the year. Every

day after that is longer than the one before.

So the Romans celebrated their sun god when

the days started getting longer.

The theory goes like this: when Emperor

Constantine made Christianity the ocial

religion of Rome, they were already used to

celebrating on December 25, so he designated

that as Christs birthday, to trick the Romans

into celebrating for Jesus.

But most modern scholars now think that

we decided on December 25 because of some

simple arithmetic. As you may have noticed,

God seems to do things in number patterns.

Elijah spent 40 days in the wilderness:Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness.

Jonah was in a whale for 3 days:

Jesus was dead for 3 days.

There were 12 tribes of Israel:

there were 12 disciples of Jesus.

So early Christians started thinking: If

Jesus died on a certain date, maybe He was

conceived on the same date?

By this logic, we can assume thatTim Tebow will win the Super Bowl

on August 14th.

Since it was believed that Jesus was

crucied on March 25, then that meant

the Holy Spirit came to Mary for the

Annunciation on March 25, as well, 33 yearsearlier. Add nine months of pregnancy to

March 25, and you get . . . DECEMBER 25!

(Orthodox Christians use the dates April 6 and

January 6, but the principles the same.) So

you can thank early Christian mathematicians

for the reason we celebrate Christmas in the

winter instead of the spring.

4.There were 3 wisemen, and they were ontime

We can blame a lot of our wrongness aboutChristmas on popular Christmas songs. We

know all about We three kings of Orient

are, and nativity scenes always show us

three wise men, generally in an aesthetically

pleasing, tiered display: one kneeling low

in worship, one kneeling normally, and one

standing.

The fourth king, who walked like anEgyptian, is generally not pictured.


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blueprint 11

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here

Acts 13:1-41In the church at Antioch there were prophetsand teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger,Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had beenbrought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.2While they were worshiping the Lord andfasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart forme Barnabas and Saul for the work to whichI have called them. 3So after they had fastedand prayed, they placed their hands on them

and sent them off. 4The two of them, sent on their way by theHoly Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailedfrom there to Cyprus.

Acts 16:6-106Paul and his companions traveled throughoutthe region of Phrygia and Galatia, havingbeen kept by the Holy Spirit from preachingthe word in the province of Asia. 7When theycame to the border of Mysia, they tried toenter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldnot allow them to. 8So they passed by Mysiaand went down to Troas. 9During the nightPaul had a vision of a man of Macedoniastanding and begging him, Come over to

Macedonia and help us. 10After Paul hadseen the vision, we got ready at once toleave for Macedonia, concluding that Godhad called us to preach the gospel to them.

Galatians 5:16-17, 22-2516So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will notgratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17Forthe sinful nature desires what is contrary tothe Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary tothe sinful nature. They are in conflict witheach other, so that you do not do what youwant. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness,23

gentleness and self-control.Against such things there is no law.24Those who belong to Christ Jesus havecrucified the sinful nature with its passionsand desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit,let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Paulsexperiences providea verygoodexampleohowthe

Holy Spiritguides aChristian. WalkintheSpirit, was Paulsormula

ormakingit

asaChristianineverydaylie. Intodaystext we travelwithPaulon a

portion o

his walkin theSpirit.

&ReadActs13:1-4.Howmanypeoplein this gathering

wereledbytheHolySpiritto dothesame

thing? Howwouldbeingledasa groupserveasaconfrmationoGodslead

ing?

What didthese peopledobeoreandater theSpirit spoketothem?W

hat does

thissay about howtoincreaseyoursensitivityto theSpiritsleading?

&ReadActs16:6-10.What do youthinkwouldhavehap

peneditheSpirithadledPaultopreach the

GospelinAsia insteadoEurope?

Howdo you thinkPaulelt,wantingtodoonet

hing but beingledbytheSpirit

todoanother?

Whatdoesthiskind odiscernmentsayaboutPaulsrelationshipwith

God?

How was PaulledbytheSpiritinthisincident?Makealist otheways

thatthe

HolySpiritmightleadChristianstoday.

&ReadGalatians5:16-17, 22-25.According totheseverses, whatwi

llresult inourlivesiweare beingledby the

Spirit?

Whatistheoppositeoliving bytheSpirit?

How canyouusethe characteristicsinthispassage asatestor wheth

eryouare

beingledby theSpirit?

selectionsfromActsandGalatians

walkinthespirit 2

B i b l e

S t u d ylesson 2 Bible Study


12/15

d

evos

Since we liveby the Spirit, letus keep in stepwith the Spirit.

Galatians 5:25

PIrit

The

Code. . . Its More Like Guidelines, Really

sMake sure your relationship with God is in good shape. Godwill usually lead Christians to take care of unconfessed sin

before leading them to do anything else.

sA strong impulse is not necessarily an indication of theSpirits leading. Feelings come and go. But a consistent

passion lasts in spite of nding out about the less fun parts

that come with any calling.

sIf you are being led by the Spirit to do something, it willnever create a conict with the Scriptures. God would not

lead you to break one of His commands.

sIf you feel that youre being led to do something, run it bya few people who are older and wiser in the faith than you

are. If they show a lot of resistance to your leading, do

some serious rethinking.

sSometimes the only way you can be certain of Gods leadingis when you look back and see how He led you the whole

time. This is a great condence builder. When you need

Gods direction in the future, remember the ways He has led

you in the past.

How do you know when God is leading you and itsnot just indigestion? Or worse, maybe the force behind your impulse is

supernatural, but not friendly. Weve all heard that Satan can masquerade

as an angel of light, appearing to be trustworthy, but having evil

intentions.

So how do we know when its the Holy Spirit leading us? Here are somethings to remember when youre looking for Gods guidance.

12 DEC JAN FEB

monWe are promised the

presence of the Holy Spirit in

our lives when we open our

lives to Christ. Those who

know Christ have a divine

guidance counselor at all

timesno appointments

necessary! Thank God for

this precious privilege.

tuesThe Holy Spirit helps us to

make sense out of the Bible.

Is there anything in the

Bible you nd difcult to

understand? Ask the Lord to

help you with it. If necessary,

ask a mature Christian

about it.

wedThe Holy Spirit usually

guides us through GodsWord. Romans 12 gives great insight into

Gods intent for our lives. Read through

it today, looking for specic ways you can

follow Gods will right now.

thursSometimes what is true isnt all that

obvious; it takes some work to discover it.

Write down a big decision youll make this

year. Then dig through the Scriptures and

nd three relevant references that could

affect your decision. Ask the Lord to keep

you diligent in your search for truth.

friSince the Holy Spirit lives in our heartsas Christians, our lives should also reect

Gods truth. How do your actions reect

the Spirit of truth? Ask the Lord for an

opportunity to demonstrate His truth.

satThe Holy Spirit uses others to teach us.

Call or write someone who has helped you

in your Christian walk. Thank that person

for how they have equipped you. Pray that

God would strengthen and encourage that

individual.


13/15

blueprint 13

For we are Gods workmanship,created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.


14/15

Christians talk a lot about following the Holy

Spirits direction. But what does it mean to truly

seek spiritual guidance for the decisions we

make? If theres a decision you need to make, thisowchart can help give you a good idea of how to

test that decision spiritually.

Spiritual Calling Flowchart

Really?

You know TV isntreal, right?

That one doesntcount.* Find

another verse.

Forget fguring out the Spirit,you still need to learn aboutthis thing called reality.

Was it the verse

about God givingyou the desires oyour heart?

TV is fction; characters on TV makedecisions or entertainment purposesand to get higher ratings. They are

never good models or real lie.

Whats yourguts track

record?

My gut knowsthings.

Sometimes Ithink my gut

has ESP.

I dont alwaysend up groundedater listening to

my gut.

Not a goodenough reason.

(Psstandmake dierent

riends!)

You just lied aboutreading the Bible! MayGod have mercy on your

soul. Try again.

Which riends?

My wiseChristianriends

My good-or-nothing riendswho my parents

dont like

My avorite TVcharacter did it

this way.

I read the Bible.

Well, itscertainly not a

badidea.

My riends toldme.

My gut tells me.

God told medirectly in anaudible voice.

Thenwhy areyou even

reading thischart,

Gideon?

YourDecision

Howdid oucom upwith thidciion?

NO

yes

yes

What thmotivationbhind thidciion?

NOyes

NO

14 DEC JAN FEB

* Psalm 37:4 is not a blanket promise that Godwill give us whatever our hearts desire. Firstwe have to transform ourselves into the kindof people who are delighted by the Lord. Goddoesnt give us the desires of our heart untilweve already conformed our desires to Him. Atthat point, we dont need this chart.


15/15

You sureits not justbecause itwould look

good?

Are you tryingto please

God, or otherpeople? ForSpirit-led

decisions, Godis the one who

counts.

At the expenseo someone

else?

At theexpense osomeone

else?

To please God.

Cause it looksgood.

Personal ameand glory.

I am passionateabout it.

It would makeme happy.

Hmm. Two-waycommunication

with Godrequirespractice.

You need tomake prayer a

discipline i youwant to hearGods will. Try

again.

Nope, Imreally just in it

or the people.

Probablyjust worldlywisdom. Notnecessarily

bad, but notSpirit led.

Do they haveclearly-stated

spiritualreasons whythis is a bad

idea?

You should

reconsider.Most o thetime you

should trustwise, spiritualauthority. Butoccasionally, iyou are frmlyconvinced othe Spirits

calling, Godscall overrides

peoplesopinion.

Then theyhave no

understandingo what God

might beasking you to

do.

Gods callingis oten scary.

And Godswisdom canseem like

oolishnessto the world,even to someChristians.

Not Spirit ledIn a God iscalling youto awesome

things kind oway?

Are thesepeople

Christianswhom you trust

and respect?

They think itsawesome.

They think Imcrazy.

Not Spiritled

Make adierentdecision.

Not Spirit

led

I guess it wouldalso please

God.

But fnally, here isthe ultimate litmustest or any major

decision:

Would thi actionhonor Chrit?

What doou flwhnou praabout thi

dciion?

Imsupposed to

pray?

peace

nothing

angelsscreaming

in ear

NO

yes

NO

yes

NO

yes

yes

NO

yes

yes

yes

NO

NO

What do othr popl thinkof our dciion?

NO

yes

(But always keeptesting your actions and

motivations throughprayer, Scripture and the

Spirit.)

Spirit Led

&

blueprint december sampler

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