Below is an example of how I filled out my Gospel Break template earlier this week:
Gospel Break:
What is the Gospel?
Father, your Gospel says that you had compassion on us sinners. Despite our infidelity towards you, You were faithful to us. We were dead in our sins. We despised you, we replaced you, we did not honor you, nor did we want to honor you. We were going to have to pay for all our sins. It would take all eternity to do so.
Jesus willingly came down from heaven. He was born of a virgin. He was fully God and fully man. He lived the sinless life we were supposed to live. He was wrongfully convicted and nailed to a cross. While He was struggling to take breaths, God put all our sins – past, present, and future – on Him. He paid an eternity’s worth of payment while He was on the cross. He then died. Three days later, God raised Him from the dead proving that we were forgiven in full.
The second God gives us the faith to believe this Gospel, we get Christ’s record, the Holy Spirit comes and lives inside of us, and we are adopted into God’s family. God bestows on us so many unilateral promises that can never go away. We are given a new identity and a new way of seeing everything.
Since God has given us Himself, there is nothing greater to get. So life is to be lived in gratitude for what He did. We are to meditate on how God loves us with all He has and is. The more we do, the more our hearts melt. The more our hearts melt, the more we love Him in return. The more we love Him, the more we obey from the heart, not to get something from Him but just to please Him.
What would have been different if I had believed the Gospel since the last time?
Yesterday, I did not take this Gospel Break. I was tempted to eat what I do not need to eat. I bordered on crossing the line there. I was spiritually becoming deader, opening the door for sin. I wasn’t really connected to you Lord. I guess I did feel connected while I wrote the website, but it wasn’t long-lasting. There were a ton of distractions with Mim’s birthday. Not that there was anything wrong with celebrating her birthday, but it was more the sense that I did not feel like I was one with You. If I really believed the Gospel, all of that would have been different. I would have stayed with You and would have done all the things that were done coming from a place of being connected to You.
What will be different by believing the Gospel after this time?
I reviewed the calendar and saw that I did put the Gospel Break as an appointment on it. I guess I got caught up writing the website. By believing the Gospel, I will prioritize abiding in You. That is what I will focus on.
What’s true about sin that I can hate?
Sin crouches at the door. It makes itself look small, innocuous, and benign. Then once I give in, it becomes bigger, scarier, and way more consequential. Sin devours, destroys, and leaves me destitute.
How does Christ replace what sin is offering and actually do it better?
While sin is sinister, You actually love me. While sin says it is better, You are actually better. You know how to give me pleasure. You know how to fill me with a great desire for the right things. You know how to fill me with Your love, and in so doing, I want to love You back. When I obey, there are great consequences. You give life, build the right things up, and fill me with riches that are greater than any material thing.
I need to beg God to give me the gift of repentance.
Father, wow, I can stray so fast. Several days of doing this Gospel Break had me so much closer to You, and then one day away from You and I started to drift and neglect You. Father, I need you all the time. I need tools and relationships that keep me abiding in You. Father, I am sorry that I am not more vigilant towards keeping these tools fresh. Father, please give me the gift of repentance.
I also need to ask God to enable me throughout my day to do all He has called me to do today, fully dependent on Him.
Father, today is a full day again. It doesn’t quite seem like a Sabbath with all the running around that needs to be done. There are pockets of rest. Father, please enable me to be fully dependent on you. Please remind me when I start to stray away from abiding to return to You. Father, please help me to chew on the Gospel throughout the day so I can do what I do in Your power.
Once again, if this feels like too much, feel free to break it down into smaller pieces to gain momentum as you go. Just do the first question for a few days, then when you are used to doing that first question, add the second and so on.
Chew On This:
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How will you see God differently by applying a template like this one on a daily basis?
The 1st Principle Leadership brand was created to equip Christian heads of companies to live in congruence with Christ and grow thriving businesses that truly glorify Him while functionally putting Christ and their families ahead of the business.
*This blog is an amalgamation of a few different clients. No client is being singled out.
