At Christ Church, we have begun 2019 with a newly recommended book for daily devotionals- The Domino Effect by J.D. Walt, a verse by verse study of Colossians.   Our reading plan only follows Mondays-Fridays with Saturdays and Sundays designated as “break days” or days to embrace the Spiritual life in Christ in other ways or with other readings.  You might also call them “grace days” to catch up on Domino Effect readings if you find life events and schedules taking you off course in some weeks. 

    This past week I had travel days to visit family, was “off schedule” and following more of a group schedule than an individual one.  This made adopting a new habit or continuing a habit in a different way a little more challenging.  It is now my first full day back in Texas (Jan 4) and I am determined to turn this false start into a catchup/restart!  If you are like me and reading this over the first weekend and have fallen a little behind, don’t give up!  We can catch up on these four short chapters very easily, they are only 4-5 pages each!  The hardest part is always getting started!  If you push through, I believe you will find that the daily (or nearly daily) reading of scripture and reflecting on the insights of devotional readings will prompt new aspects and stages of spiritual growth. 

    Also, the accountability and encouragement of friends sharing in the journey also helps to prevent those temporary schedule interruptions from becoming permanent ones.  So if you have unintentionally taken a detour, lets take get back on this onramp together and see how the Lord maybe cultivating new life in Christ in us this year!  BTW- if you still need a book, you can get one in the Gathering Hall or at Jacob’s Well this Sunday or get digital copies on Kindle or Apple Books.  Also, if you have not already joined the church facebook page, please do so to see occasional posts of quotes and comments about them- www.facebook.com/christchurchsl.

    Here is where the daily passages/dominoes have taken us so far:

Jan 1- Colossians 1:2 / Domino 1|2 – “in Colossae…in Christ”   

The analogy of the picture and picture frame, presents the challenging idea of not just adding Christianity as window dressing on life as normal in our context or our city, but to truly be ones who are “in-Christ.”

Jan 2- Colossians 1:6 / Domino 1|6 – “Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God.”

This chapter draws the distinction from just knowing about God to, through grace of Jesus Christ, being able to personally know God.  This step requires humility in acknowledging that our personal base of knowledge is not fully adequate, and that the gospel is really about God mastering us in Jesus Christ in a reconciled relationship.

Jan 3- Colossians 1:9 / Domino 1|9 – “We have not stopped praying….We continually ask God…”

  With the passing of time far beyond our “early days” experiences with God in Christ, there is often the need to remember the delight we once had in prayer with the Lord.  Acknowledging that we are not where we want to be in a life of prayer with God in light of the scriptures and the example of other prayerful Christians, is ok and can be a great precursor to growth in Christ!  An “amateur” prayer person just does it for the love of it!

Jan 4- Colossians 1:13 / Domino 1|13 – “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves..”

  We all need to be rescued.  Becoming a real Christian requires us to acknowledge that we are real sinners.

*Here is the reading plan for January-February:

Dates	Chapter #		Dates	Chapter #
Jan 1	1		Jan 31	23
Jan 2	2		Feb 1	24
Jan 3	3		Feb 4	25
Jan 4	4		Feb 5	26
Jan 7	5		Feb 6	27
Jan 8	6		Feb 7	28
Jan 9	7		Feb 8	29
Jan 10	8		Feb 11	30
Jan 11	9		Feb 12	31
Jan 14	10		Feb 13	32
Jan 15	11		Feb 14	33
Jan 16	12		Feb 15	34
Jan 17	13		Feb 18	35
Jan 18	14		Feb 19	36
Jan 21	15		Feb 20	37
Jan 22	16		Feb 21	38
Jan 23	17		Feb 22	39
Jan 24	18		Feb 25	40
Jan 25	19		Feb 26	41
Jan 28	20		Feb 27	42
Jan 29	21		Feb 28	43
Jan 30	22		Mar 1	44

**Also, if you would like to be in a weekly sermon based small group or in one of the Men’s or Women’s Bible studies, now is the time to sign up or drop in!

 Dan Conway

Pastor of Discipleship and Outreach

Christ Church Sugar Land