30 Words: A Devotional for the Rest of Us

By Jarrid Wilson

Make a habit of spending time with God--one word at a time.

More than anything, our God wants us to spend time with him. But in a culture of instant downloads and drive-through lattes, we learn that faster is better and slowing down is not an option. If we look carefully at Scripture, though, we see God has calling us to live intentionally--relationally--with him.

30 Words includes verses for meditation, discussion questions for group study or personal reflection, and quotes from Christian leaders. Each day, you'll focus on a single word that can teach us about God and daily relationship with him. And along the way, you'll find encouragement to open your heart, mind, and soul to God--helping you build a habit of spiritual development with the power to transform your life and faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kirkdale Press
• Release date: Dec 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9781577997634

Jarrid Wilson

Jarrid Wilson is a millennial pastor, best-selling author, and inspirational blogger. His articles have been viewed by millions, showcased on some of today's hottest talk shows, and featured on national news stations worldwide. He is a dynamic speaker whose outside-the-box perspectives have gained him national recognition from some of today's most influential Christian leaders and pastors. Jarrid and his wife Juli live in Smyrna, Tennessee where Jarrid currently serves as the NextGenpastor at LifePoint Church.    

Book preview

30 Words

A DEVOTIONAL FOR THE REST OF US

JARRID WILSON

30 Words: A Devotional for the Rest of Us

2nd Edition

Copyright 2012, 2016 Jarrid Wilson

Kirkdale Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225

KirkdalePress.com

You may use brief quotations from this novel in reviews, presentations, articles, and books. For all other uses, please write Kirkdale Press for permission. Email us at [e-mail].

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Print ISBN 9781577997627

Digital ISBN 9781577997634

Kirkdale Editorial Team: Lynnea Smoyer, Abigail Stocker, Elizabeth Vince

Cover Design: Christine Christophersen

Back Cover Design: Liz Donovan

To my parents.

Thank you for your constant encouragement and support. I would not be where I am today without you. Thank you for always pointing me toward Jesus.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Word 1: Faith

Word 2: Irreplaceable

Word 3: Provider

Word 4: Obedience

Word 5: Change

Word 6: Hope

Word 7: Surrender

Word 8: Prayer

Word 9: Compassion

Word 10: Purpose

Word 11: Patience

Word 12: Freedom

Word 13: Pursue

Word 14: Joy

Word 15: Disciple

Word 16: Trust

Word 17: Fearless

Word 18: Extraordinary

Word 19: Identity

Word 20: Truth

Word 21: Passion

Word 22: Sacrifice

Word 23: Powerful

Word 24: Worship

Word 25: Love

Word 26: Support

Word 27: Grace

Word 28: Servant

Word 29: Risk

Word 30: Safety

Author’s Note

INTRODUCTION

By reading one word every day for 30 days, my hope is that you will be encouraged, inspired, and convicted to dive into a deeper relationship with God—and not just because I, your pastor, spouse, small-group leader, or parents are telling you to, but because you have personally decided to open up your heart to the immeasurable beauty of God’s being.

Nothing in this world compares to what God can offer you. And no matter how familiar you are with the Bible, I pray this devotional will bring you a fresh wind of encouragement and wisdom.

WORD 1

FAITH

True faith means holding nothing back. It means putting every hope in God’s fidelity to His Promises.

—Francis Chan

We all have goals, ideas, and the innovation to dream big, but where is the line between dreaming it and achieving it?

The idea of having faith is something we often throw around. Our culture has deemed just have faith is the answer to just about every problem that doesn’t have a clear solution. And although I do believe our faith lays the foundation for our walk with Jesus, faith without internal and external action is profitless. We can say, I have faith, but if our hearts and souls aren’t ready to back up that statement, then what good is it? Faith is a living, bold trust in God’s grace—so certain of God’s existence that it would risk death a million times.

Looking to Scripture, a man named Peter gives us a wonderful example of faith initiation. Although Peter was mocked on various occasions for his child-like actions, he was a faithful servant who loved Jesus with all of his heart. Matthew 14:25–29 paints a beautiful picture of Peter’s faith and trust in Jesus. Here, Peter is given the opportunity to internally and externally initiate his faith by stepping off the safety and comfort of his boat. Amid the crashing of waves and rolling of thunder, Peter takes a step of faith toward the ultimate goal: Jesus.

We can make fun of Peter all we want, but if we’re really honest with ourselves, I don’t see anyone else faithful enough to step off that boat. Sometimes having faith means engaging in something so bold that you will end up looking stupid if Jesus doesn’t come through.

The reality is, we all want to walk on water, but none of us wants to step off the boat. It’s time to initiate our faith. It’s time to step off the boat. Faith is the vision of the heart; it sees God in the darkest of times as well as in the brightest of days.

Of course, Peter’s not perfect. Far from it. One of the other stories that Peter’s so well-known for is his denial of Jesus. You can read this story in John 18:15–27. Three times Peter denied Jesus. You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you? he was asked. No, I am not, Peter replied. After everything Peter had been through with Jesus—after walking on water with him!—his faith wavered, and he still couldn’t go all in. But his story doesn’t end there. It’s believed that Peter later died a martyr’s death for Jesus.

Faith isn’t a fire hose that you turn on once and keep going full blast forever and ever. I wish I could claim a faith like that, but it just doesn’t happen. Faith changes. It wavers. Some experiences in life will shake your faith; others will strengthen it. The same Peter that steps out into the storm later denies Jesus and even later is killed for his relentless faith. The important thing is to hold on to the faith God has given you and to act on it!

Ultimately, hearing the word initiates faith; speaking the word activates faith; doing the word demonstrates faith.

VERSE OF THE DAY

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless (James 2:17).

CHALLENGE

Share: Faith in God includes faith in his direction. #30WordsBook

DISCUSS

Rate your faith on a scale of 1–10. Be honest.

________________________________________________​________________________________________________​________________________________________________​

What is something you’ve done recently to demonstrate your faith?

________________________________________________​________________________________________________​________________________________________________​

Discuss examples of people throughout Scripture who have boldly expressed their faith.

________________________________________________​________________________________________________​________________________________________________​

WORD 2

IRREPLACEABLE

LORD, there is no one like you! For you are great, and your name is full of power.

—Jeremiah 10:6

Question: What do all of these have in common?

1.Tofu

2.Veggie burgers

3.Mountain Lightning®

4.Substitute teachers

Answer: They are all substitutes for the original.

And regardless of their value, most substitutes are portrayed as just the same, or as good as the original. But in reality, are they? Not usually. (Except for maybe substitute teachers. Everyone loves them.)

Substitutes and replacements are everywhere. And although many of us don’t realize it, much of our time is spent trying to fill voids with substitutes and replacements rather than reaching for the real stuff.

Are we doing the same with God?

Although money, jobs, titles, and successes aren’t necessarily bad things, when they start becoming our source of worth, they become a

Reviews for 30 Words

[davidvoz · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This word study is set up for 1 word a day for the month. While I found it very short I can see where you can start a more in depth study of each work on your own. I did not care for the social media suggestions at the end of each study so I choose to ignore them.

[kpjackson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An okay collection of devotionals. Not really much here to challenge or grow the faith of the reader, though. There are much better devotionals that you would be better served using on a regular basis (anything by Spurgeon for a start).

[davemac_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

"Pamphlet" would be more accurate. The author has a high opinion of himself. I found the text simplistic and not very deep. How handy - several of the challenges amounted to advertising the book! The whole premise of the book sounds very self-elevating to me.

[nscanlon_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Simple concept = success for reader!Most devotional books are set-up for a year long season. While this is admirable, many of us fail along the way; some of us more than once. 30 Words is set up for one month - one devotional per day. Now this is a goal I can attain! The words are not the run-of-the-mill "devotional" words; they are thought-provoking yet challenging. There is even a challenge at the end of each entry to share the day's word on social media (yes, it's a dual purpose used for marketing the book, too). What an easy way to share God with the world!This book is a must to have not only for yourself, but in your gift closet. It's the perfectly priced book to stock up on for thank you gifts, gifts for teachers and colleagues, the list is endless. I will be sure to give them at Christmas this year.

[wulf_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Bite-sized daily devotionals have long been a staple of Christian fare so Wilson’s book joins a crowded table. Some such works are tied to particular seasons (Advent and Lent being popular) but this is in the group that can be started at any time and will run about a month. As the title indicates, the author has picked thirty words (such as faith, hope and love), and addresses each one with a few paragraphs of reflection. Each meditation includes anchors in the Bible, along with a related verse of the day and a short challenge.It was the challenges I liked least; many of them amounted to “tweet this aphorism and include a hashtag linked to the book”. People are using the #30WordsBook tag but I am not sure whether it is more about building faith or sales. Apart from that, I think it does its job well but not in such an outstanding way that it rises as a headline example. A devotional with the rest of them rather than, as the subtitle claims, a devotional for the rest of us.

[itbgc · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book consists of 30 short Christian devotionals. I enjoyed reading this book for the most part. I loved to be reminded of and challenged by favorite Scriptures. I didn't like the frequent social media suggestions as action points for the day. It seemed like the author was trying too hard to promote his book.