Day 1: Convert or Apprentice? Rundown In the American church, we often celebrate the moment someone walks down an aisle to make a decision. Since the 1820s, the altar call has driven us to create converts—people who have an emotional response to a message. But Jesus didn't call us to make converts; Matthew 28 commands us to make disciples. The Greek word for disciple is Mathetias, which means a learner or a follower. In the first century, this wasn't a standard classroom dyna

Day 1: The Sovereignty of Geography Rundown In Matthew 4, Jesus didn’t just wander into Zebulun and Naphtali; He targeted it. Historically, when Israel first entered the Promised Land, these tribes compromised. They didn't drive out the inhabitants, and because of that disobedience, they were among the first to fall into the deep darkness of the Assyrian conquest. It became a broken, mixed-race, marginalized region—the "Galilee of the Gentiles." Yet, this is exactly where Jes

Day 1: The Ignorance Defense Rundown When a police officer pulls you over for doing 60 in a 25 mph zone, "I didn't know" isn't going to get you out of the ticket. Ignorance is not a valid legal defense, and it certainly isn't a valid spiritual one. When we stand before Jesus, we won't be able to plead ignorance because God has made Himself known through creation, written His law on our hearts, and given us unrestricted access to His Word. When Jesus was led into the wildernes

Day 1: Rethinking the Wilderness Scripture “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” — Matthew 4:1 The Challenge When we find ourselves in a season of isolation, frustration, or silence, our first instinct is usually to complain. We look around at the dry, barren landscape of our lives and assume we’ve done something wrong. We treat the wilderness like it’s a punishment—a cosmic timeout for not being good enough. But look closely at

Day 1: Intentional Living Scripture: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” — 1 Corinthians 10:31 Rundown Jesus didn't just wander aimlessly through the wilderness until He accidentally stumbled upon John at the Jordan River. He went there intentionally, with a specific purpose. Too often, we move through life on autopilot, letting the current of our schedules drag us wherever it wants. Or, worse, we add a bunch of extra commitments