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DAY 30

Treasure Jar

[5 minutes]
Mindsetter Moment: It is our last day of 30 for 30. If you have completed all 30 of the days, you deserve a big congratulations and possibly some extra coffee to celebrate. We hope this challenge has helped you see the Bible in new ways and equipped you to follow Jesus more faithfully in your everyday life. If God has done something in your life through this 30-day challenge, we would love to hear about it. You can share your stories with us by emailing info@summitparkchurch.com.

Just because 30 for 30 is ending, it doesn’t mean that you have to stop spending daily time with Jesus! We pray this has launched you into renewed excitement about Jesus. Your best days are still to come!

[15 minutes]
Scripture reading:

Job 34:1-36:33
2 Corinthians 4:1-12
Psalm 44:1-8
Proverbs 22:10-12

Devotional thought
In ancient Roman towns, clay was used for everything from utensils and pots to sculptures and beautiful mosaics. In Paul’s world, it would have surrounded the readers of his letter at their table and in their living spaces. Most homes probably used terracotta lamps to provide light for the family in the evening.

Paul writes that God, who brought light out of the darkness with His word has placed this light into our hearts giving us the “light” or understanding of God. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us” 2 Corinthians 4:7.

It isn’t hard to imagine the Apostle Paul dictating this letter as evening falls and a lamp flickers against the mosaic tiles of a Grecian room. Paul wants to remind his audience that they are a light, but that isn’t the perfect analogy because they themselves aren’t the light. They are conduits of light; carriers of light. They are like the terracotta lamp on the table, a fragile jar of clay carrying God’s light to the world around them.

What applies to me?
From the beginning of the Bible to the very end, there is a common theme. God is looking for partners; people who will carry his message of love and redemption to the hurting, the lost and the broken in our world.

Now we have been invited into the story. We are lamps in the darkness. We are working together to build God’s new temple. We are reservoirs of water in the desert. We are keepers of the way back home for a lost and broken world.

Today there is probably laundry to do and a dishwasher to clean out, deadlines to meet, and soccer games to attend. These are things we do, but in God’s kingdom, they are not the sum total of us. Life is short, so let’s make the most of this opportunity to be a partner in God’s story.

[10 minutes]
Write it out: What is the next step for you? How can you shine your light wherever you are? Take a minute to write down your ideas.

Pray it out: Ask God to help you recognize the people who need light in your community. Take some time to pray for the lost and hurting in your sphere of influence.

Live it out: Be on the lookout for opportunities to shine God’s light today.