Daily Reading Notes Guidance & Decision Marking

Introduction Christians rightly want to know what God would want them to do – what God’s will for them is. But how can we know God’s will? Look at any Koorong or Word catalogue, search online on the topic, or chat to someone you know, and you will find a dizzying array of thoughts, methods, books and ‘wisdom’. How does God show us what he wants us to do? Or how do I make decisions? Does God only care about the big ones? Or does he care about every minutiae? Does he promise to guide by impressions and feelings and dreams and ‘words’ from friends, or does he promise wisdom in other ways? There is a lot to cover in 4 short weeks, and there is sometimes a life-time of thinking and acting that need to be tweaked and transformed. But God does promise to help us. James 1:5 tells us:

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Let us start with a prayer: Father God, thankyou for the wisdom you promise, wisdom that is

given by your Word through your Spirit. Thankyou for Jesus, your

complete Word. Help us to learn how you promise to make your will

known to us, and how we are to be guided by you. Help us to ‘be

transformed by the renewing of our mind’ according to what you

show us. Amen

Extra Resources There are some very helpful resources to consider: Guidance and the Voice of God. Jensen & Payne, Matthias Media. Just Do Something. Kevin DeYoung. Moody Publishers Decision Making and the Will of God. Garry Friesen. Multonomah Books.

Week 1: The God Who Guides The first step to understanding God’s guidance is to understand the God who guides. This week we will look at a variety of passages that help us get a glimpse of who God is, how he interacts with the world, and what his priorities are. Day 1 Read Psalm 104:1-15.

1. What do these verses tell us about God’s Sovereign power and the degree to which He interacts with the created world?

2. Why is it important to know that God is in control of all things, the big & the small things?

3. How does knowing about God’s power over creation help your confidence in His ability to guide you?

Praise God for He is the Sovereign Creator and Ruler over all things. Pray that God would give you increasing confidence in His Sovereign rule so that you might trust deeply in Him and His ability to guide you.

Day 2 Read Psalm 23:1-6.

1. Without falling into sentimentality, how the Shepherd guide His sheep and how does the Psalmist respond to that guidance?

2. This is a profoundly personal picture of the way God relates to His people. What does this suggest about God’s interest in you and the things you are going through?

3. The Psalmist delights in the provision, protection, guidance & presence of God regardless of the situation he finds himself in. How does this challenge the way you think about God’s guidance?

Thank God for His personal interest in your life and His promise to guide you each day. Pray that God would give you greater confidence to trust in Him for He knows what is best for your ultimate good. Rather than praying that God would keep you from hard places, pray that you would delight in Him no matter what you are confronted with in life.

Day 3 Read Acts 2:22-39

1. Right through the Bible there is a growing anticipation of the coming of the Christ, God’s perfect King. What does v22-23 say about God’s plans for his Son?

2. God’s plans and human choices do not always line up, whether by the good intentions or outright rebellion. How are the actions of ‘men’ referred to in this section?

3. While we are always accountable for our choices, can our mistakes ever throw God’s plans off course?

4. In what ways would it help to know God’s big plans if we want to rightly understand His guidance in the everyday things?

Praise God that His Sovereign plans cannot be thrown off course by any human actions, whether good or evil. Thank Him for the great confidence that we can have in His guidance for He has clearly revealed His purpose in the world through Jesus in His Word.

Day 4 Read Psalm 25:4-15

1. What words are used to describe the person who genuinely seeks after God in these verses?

2. Why do you think these characteristics are important in a person?

3. ‘Guidance’ for us can often be a question about what car to buy, what job to take, what person to marry – but what is it that the Psalmist wants from God?

Ask God to give us genuine hearts that humbly seek after Him with a right placed fear and reverence of Him. Pray that we might be more like the Psalmist, seeking to live a righteous life before God as our first priority. Day 5 Read Proverbs 3:5-6.

1. What do these verses tell us about the kind of person who truly wants to know the guidance of God?

2. Why is it so important to trust in the Lord, especially when it comes to the topic of guidance?

3. What is God’s promise to those who will trust Him?

Praise God for the great confidence that we can have in His guidance in our lives. Pray that we might increasingly trust in Him & be given to His purposes in the world.

Prayer Points and Notes

Week 2: Where to? Last week we reflected on God as the sovereign creator and ruler over all things, He is the great shepherd, the planner of all history and the one who promises to guide those who seek after Him. The next question we ought to ask is “where is He guiding me? This is one of the big questions we all ask at some point in our lives. So, this week we will spend some time looking at God’s grand purpose for your life. Day 1 Read Ephesians 1:3-10.

1. Verse 10 states the ultimate purpose of God’s saving work in the world – what is it?

2. God’s purpose for us is given some detail in v. 4 & 5 – for what purpose has God saved you?

3. If this is God’s sovereign work in us, to what extent should we actively work to that same end?

Praise God for His might saving work in your life and the great purpose to which you have been called. Pray that you might actively give yourself to the same purpose of becoming holy & blameless before God, resting in the

confidence of your adoption into His family and the promise of one day being finally & fully united to Jesus. Day 2 Read Ephesians 2:8-10.

1. God has a purpose for your life that He has graciously saved you for & has prepared in advance for you to do – what is it?

2. What do you think it means to do “good works”? See Eph. 4:17-24 as you think about this.

3. What ought to be our ultimate motivation for living holy lives (doing good works)? See 1 Peter 1:11-12 for help flesh this out.

Praise God for saving us by His grace and for His glory. Pray that God would give you great resolve to live your life according to His purpose of becoming what you have already been declared – holy & blameless – so that people would see your good deeds and glorify God. Day 3 Read 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

1. On Monday we looked at the purpose of God’s sovereign work in us to unite us to Christ & to make us holy & blameless before Him. Given this is a work God is doing, how much effort ought we be giving to it according to these verses?

2. What is God’s clearly expressed will for your life according to these verses?

3. How does knowing this as God’s will for your life help you understand where He might be guiding you?

Praise God for the confidence we can have that He who began a good work in us will bring it completion. Because of this confidence, pray that God would deeply convict you of the need to pursue a life of holiness for the glory of God. Day 4 Read Philippians 3:7-14.

1. Where is God leading Paul and how does this affect the way he views life?

2. Why is a right view of God’s goal for your life important for understanding how He might guide you?

3. How does this passage challenge the goals of your life? Praise God that we can so clearly know His purpose for us in calling heavenward in Christ. Pray that you would be able to cultivate the kind of mind that we have read about today, one fixed on eternity.

Day 5 Read Acts 20:21.

1. Are repentance and faith only part of our initial response to God (conversion), or, are they the ongoing way we relate to God? See Phil. 2:12-14 & Colossians 2:6-7 as you think this through.

2. Repentance and faith are the continuing ethic of the Christian life. How do these things show themselves in your life?

3. In light of this week’s readings, what does it mean to be walking in God’s will for your life?

Pray that God would help you see how important it is to be given to His purposes in the world of bringing all things under Christ and to make us holy. Ask God to help you see your sin so you can repent of it, turn to Him trusting in His forgiveness and grace for the glory of God.

Prayer Points and Notes

Week 3: How So far, we have seen that God is the sovereign creator and ruler over all things, He is the great shepherd, the planner of all history and the one who promises to guide those who seek after Him. His grand purpose is to unite all things under Christ and has called us to himself in order that we would be made holy – this is the ultimate end to which He is guiding us. God guides us in many ways, some times behind the scenes by His sovereign purposes, sometimes in ways that require us to respond through the changing of our minds, by turning back to God and trusting in Him (repentance & faith). By now you might well be asking – how do we know His guidance, how can we hear God’s voice today? That is what we are going to look into this week. Day 1 Read John 14:6-10.

1. How do we know God and hear His voice? See also John 12:49.

2. In the past God spoke in many different ways (Heb. 1:1-3), what has changed with the coming of Jesus?

3. What does this mean for us if we really want to know God’s will for our lives?

Praise God for so clearly revealing Himself to us in the person of His Son, Jesus. Thank Him for making plain to us His will & purpose through the words of Jesus so that might know Him truly and deeply. Pray that God would give you a hunger for the Word of Jesus so that you might know God’s voice & live a life pleasing to Him. Day 2 Read Matthew 28:16-20.

1. Who does Jesus entrust His words (teaching) to?

2. How does this shape the way we think about the Apostle’s teaching (which we read throughout the New Testament)? Whose words are we actually reading?

3. Where ought we be turning if we want to truly hear the voice of Jesus?

Praise God for giving us His Word through Jesus, witnessed & passed on through the Apostle’s so that we might know with confidence God’s voice today. May we have great confidence that when we read these words, we are reading the very words of God to us today. Day 3 Read 2 Timothy 3:14-17

1. Are the words of the Bible simply words “about” God or are they profoundly more than this? What does Paul mean that all Scripture is “God breathed”?

2. Looking at the end of v. 15 & 17 – what two things do the Scriptures equip us for? How are these two things connected to God’s big purpose for your life?

3. When we take time to read our Bibles, who is it that we hear speaking to us? (See also 2 Peter 1:20-21)

Praise God for the confidence we can have that in reading the Bible we can hear His voice today. Thank Him that His words are able to make us wise for salvation & equip us for every good work. Day 4 Read 2 Corinthians 11:10-15.

1. What threat does Paul warn of in this passage? See 2 Corinthians 11:1-4 – what kind of false teaching is Paul reacting to here?

2. What then is the danger of being taught how to connect with God if it doesn’t involve the gospel of Jesus as revealed in the Scriptures?

3. Do you have a solid grasp of the gospel? Are you well grounded in what the Bible says? How important are these things if you want to know God’s voice with confidence?

Praise God for His powerful gospel that has been revealed to us through Jesus in His Word through the witness of His Apostles. Ask God to help you grow in knowledge of this gospel through a deep commitment to God’s Word so you need not fear being deceived by false teaching. Day 5 Read 1 John 1:1-3.

1. What tests does John give us to be able to discern the truth?

2. John was an Apostle of Jesus, how much authority did his teaching carry when determining what was true or not? How important is this for us to understand today? How might it shape the way we pursue our knowledge of God?

3. Read Hebrews 1:1-3 – what is God’s big message to a world that wants to know Him, who are we to look to if we want to hear His voice?

Praise God that He has given us the ability to know how to test what we hear so we can be confident about what is true. Pray that we would increasingly focus our eyes on Jesus & His Word to us revealed in the Scriptures as the place we can hear the very voice of God with confidence every time we read it.

Prayer Points and Notes

Week 4: So you might be thinking to yourself “I get it that the Bible is God’s living & active Word, but how does it speak to my question about what Uni course to do, what job to take, when do I retire?” – or any other variation of question that the Bible does not directly speak to. What we have outlined so far is that God guides sovereignly behind the scenes and is always guiding you whether you are aware of it or not. Additionally, God may sovereignly & supernaturally speak in any number of ways according to His purpose, but he does not promise to guide us like this. Moreover, His purposes for you are not centered on those decisions we think are most important - His big purpose for you is to be united to Christ and to become like him. To this end, He speaks to us by His Spirit in the Scriptures in order that we might find His voice clearly about everything we need to know. God offers moral guidance through commands for how we are to live a righteous & holy life. Where there is no command, God gives us freedom & wisdom sufficient for every decision. So what does this look like in practice? How does God guide us through the application of wisdom to those decisions that the Bible doesn’t speak directly to – this week, we will look at how to approach these types of decisions. Day 1 Read Proverbs 9:10

1. Where is the starting point for us becoming wise?

2. If we want greater understanding, to whom do we look?

3. God made the world & everything in it with purpose & design. He ordered things to work a certain way right down to the details. Wisdom can be gleaned from observing creation because it is God’s designed world. We can learn some wisdom by simply observing nature itself - common sense. However, a greater wisdom can be known by knowing the One who made it – why do you think that is the case?

Thank God for creating the world with purpose & design. Ask that He might increase your understanding of His glory so that you might fear Him rightly. Pray that you might develop a deeper knowledge of Him so that you can see the world as He see it and so apply wisdom to all your decision in light of what He says is most important. Day 2 Read Matthew 6:19-21

1. What is the principle that Jesus wants us to understand in these verses?

2. To the person who struggles with a love of money – how might this principle translate into wisdom about what career to pursue or investments to take on, or what takes their time?

3. How is your heart towards wealth, what might God’s guidance through this wisdom mean for your life?

Thank God for showing us the great need to understand the complex nature of our heart & its desires so that we might be wise in how we live.

Pray that God would help you see your own heart today so you can respond to Him rightly in repentance and faith. Day 3 Read Matthew 6:25-34

1. What are the two aims that should frame all our decision making according to Jesus (v33)?

2. What is the other thing we are to do with all our other cares and concerns (eg. v25-27)?

3. How does this practically help with decisions you might be making today?

Praise God for his great care of us. Praise him for the clarity he gives about what matters most. Pray for a perspective on life that Jesus is encouraging here. Confess any time that you have not had this. Day 4 Read James 1:5 & James 4:13-15

1. What two things does James (Jesus’ brother) teach about making decisions here?

2. James 4 is not against planning (he still says “we will do this or that”) - but what is the attitude he is encouraging, and the attitude he is against?

3. How does this relate to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:33 (yesterday)? Praise God for the wonderful freedom that can be found in applying wisdom with godly motives to the decisions we make in confidence that God can guide us in this way. Ask God for a heart attitude of trust and a desire for his Kingdom and righteousness. Day 5 Read Romans 12:1-2

1. How do we come to know what God’s will is?

2. Read Col 2:1-5. Where, according to this passage, are the treasures of wisdom and knowledge?

3. How can you continue in growing in letting your mind be renewed and transformed by Christ and his Word?

Thank God for making known to us the mystery of who His is through Jesus. Pray that we might see the great treasure it is to know Him and be known by Him. Pray that we would encourage other from the heart, be united in the love of Christ and pursue a deep knowledge of God in Christ.

Prayer Points and Notes