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Daily Devotionals
Week of August 9th, 2026
Sunday Devotional
Opening Question: Think of a time when something changed that you did not ask for — big or small. How did you initially respond to that change?
Discussion Questions:
1. The sermon described our identity as something we receive from God rather than something we build on our own. What does it practically mean to you to receive your identity as a child of God? Does that feel natural, or is it something you have to keep returning to?
2. The quote from author Ruth Haley Barton described your desire for God as the deepest essence of who you are. Do you agree with that? How would you describe the current state of your desire for God?
3. If Jesus asked you right now, "What do you want?" — what would your honest answer be? How close is that answer to what you sense God wants for you?
4. The sermon suggests that change is hard in part because it forces us to clarify what we actually want. Have you ever started trying to make a change and discovered that you were not sure you actually wanted it? What happened?
5. The sermon referenced this idea from James Clear: "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." Where have you seen this play out — either positively or negatively — in your own life?
6. The sermon encouraged people to "operate within your affinity" — meaning, find ways to pursue God that you actually enjoy, and that fit your life. What does that look like for you right now? What has worked in the past?
7. The church offers worship services, online content, a weekly devotional, and an app as tools for building spiritual habits. Are you currently using any of these? Is there one you have been meaning to try but have not yet?
Key Takeaways:
1. Change is not simply about outcomes or even processes. At the deepest level, change is about identity — who we believe we are and who we want to become.
2. As followers of Christ, our identity is not something we have to construct or earn. It is something we receive. Those who believe in Jesus are given the right to become children of God (John 1:12).
3. Psalm 37:4 is not a promise that God will give us whatever we wish for. It is a description of transformation — when we delight in God, he reshapes our desires to align with his.
4. The central definition from this sermon: change is aligning what we want with what God wants.
5. Willpower alone is not enough. Systems and habits put us in a position to consistently receive from God, which is where real formation happens.
Practical Applications:
1. Name your identity. Write down in one or two sentences who you believe God says you are. Not who you are trying to become, but who he already says you are as his child. Keep it somewhere you will see it this week.
3. Try one new habit this week. Using the "operate within your affinity" principle, identify one small, realistic way to put yourself in position to receive from God this week. It does not have to be elaborate. It just has to be something you will actually do.
4. Use the church's resources. Download the app or pull up the weekly devotional and use it at least three times before next week. Come ready to share what, if anything, stood out to you.
Weekday Devotional
What’s on your heart today, Jesus? What should be on my heart today, Jesus?
What makes you happy, Lord? What breaks your heart?
What do you think of me? Who do you say I am?
How can I join you in what you’re doing around me?
Atomic Habits: Identity -- 5-Day Bible Reading Plan and Devotional Guide
Day 1: Who You Are Before What You Do
Reading: John 1:12 -- The passage describes the remarkable gift given to all who receive Christ and believe in his name: the right to become children of God.
Devotional: Before any habit, goal, or resolution comes identity. The deepest question is not what you want to accomplish but who you are. God does not wait for you to improve before claiming you. He names you first. You are his child. That is not something you earn through discipline or achieve through effort. It is received. Every habit worth building flows from this foundation. When you understand whose you are, the question of who you are becoming takes on new meaning. Begin here. Return here often.
Reflection: What would change about your daily decisions if you consistently lived from the identity of being a child of God?
Practical Application: Write the words "I am a child of God" somewhere you will see it each morning this week. Let that declaration precede every task on your list.
Day 2: The Desire Beneath the Desire
Reading: Psalm 37:4 -- This verse invites the reader to find deep delight in God, with the promise that God will shape and fulfill the desires of the heart.
Devotional: Most people read this verse and hear a promise that God will deliver whatever they want. But the deeper reading reveals something more transformative. When you genuinely delight in God, he does not simply grant your wishes -- he reshapes your wishes. He changes what you want. This is the heart of Christian maturity: your desires slowly aligning with his. That is not a loss of self. It is the truest version of yourself emerging. The goal is not a new car or a cleared calendar. The goal is a heart that increasingly wants what God wants.
Reflection: What are the current desires of your heart? How many of them reflect what God delights in?
Practical Application: Spend five minutes in prayer asking God not to give you what you want, but to change what you want. Be honest about the gap between your desires and his.
Day 3: What Do You Want?
Reading: Mark 10:46-52 -- A blind man named Bartimaeus cries out to Jesus, who stops, calls him near, and asks him directly what he wants. The man's honest answer is met with healing and restoration.
Devotional: Jesus asked a blind man what seemed like an obvious question. Surely he wanted his sight. But Jesus asked anyway. There is something significant in being invited to voice the desire of your heart before God. He is not asking because he does not know. He is asking because clarity about what we want is the beginning of honest pursuit. Change is difficult in part because we have never stopped to name what we actually want. Jesus creates space for that naming. He is not impatient with the question. He stops. He calls you near. He asks.
Reflection: If Jesus stood before you today and asked "What do you want me to do for you?", what would you say?
Practical Application: Write out your honest answer to that question in a journal. Do not edit it for spiritual correctness. Then sit with it in prayer and ask God to show you what that desire reveals about your heart.
Day 4: Systems, Not Just Intentions
Reading: Psalm 1:1-3 -- This passage describes the person who does not follow the counsel of those who disregard God, but instead meditates on God's instruction consistently. That person is compared to a tree planted near water, bearing fruit in season and remaining stable.
Devotional: Intention without structure rarely produces lasting change. The person described in Psalm 1 is not someone who occasionally thinks about God when things get hard. They are someone who has built a consistent rhythm of returning to God's word. The tree does not bear fruit because it tries harder. It bears fruit because it is planted in the right place. Your spiritual habits -- worship, Scripture reading, prayer -- are not ways to earn God's favor. They are ways to position yourself near the water. You cannot manufacture transformation. You can put yourself where transformation happens.
Reflection: What does your current system for encountering God look like? Is it consistent enough to be called a habit?
Practical Application: Identify one specific time in your day -- not a vague intention, but an actual slot -- where you will read Scripture and pray this week. Treat it as an appointment you will not cancel.
Day 5: Love as the Foundation of Change
Reading: John 21:15-17 -- In a tender exchange on the shore after a morning of fishing, Jesus asks Peter three times whether Peter loves him. Each time, Jesus responds with a call to action rooted in that love.
Devotional: Jesus did not ask Peter about his productivity, his plans, or his performance record. He asked about love. Before Peter could move forward in his calling, he needed to settle the question of what he wanted most. The fish on the shore represented the familiar, the comfortable, the life before. Jesus was not condemning that life. He was inviting Peter into something more. Change is not primarily about willpower or systems. It begins with love. When you love God, aligning what you want with what he wants becomes less like discipline and more like devotion.
Reflection: In what areas of your life are you still choosing the familiar shore over the invitation Jesus is extending?
Practical Application: Read John 21:15-17 slowly and insert your own name where Peter's appears. Sit with the question Jesus asks. Answer it honestly. Then ask God what he is calling you toward in this season.