Daily Devotional Guide 
1.18.09

Consider these scripturally probing questions to enrich NEXT Sunday's (1.25.09) message:

                                  The Shack Series (chapters 5-6):
                               Repainting Portraits of God / Elousia

Day 1	In chapter 6, Mack chooses to spend some time with God. In which kind of setting 
would you prefer to encounter God, one like this or the one depicted in Isaiah 6:1-8? Why? 
On pages 88 and 89, in what form are options presented to Mack? The issue of Mack's freedom 
arises in the tension of his choice to hand out (or not) with Papa. Is he "supposed to" converse 
or does he "want to?" What relevance would that have to the basis of a genuine relationship 
with anyone..and especially with God Almighty?



Day 2	On page 91, Mack says, "calling you Papa is a bit of a stretch." For what reasons is 
that true for Mack? Do you identify with any of those reasons? For what reasons of your own 
would it be a stretch? What do you think is conveyed about Papa through the mention of his/her 
musical interests (p. 90-91)? What word best describes your reaction to the portrayal of Papa 
groovin' to Diatribe (p. 90)? Endearing? Slanderous? Inaccurate? Explain.  



Day 3	 What insights do you find in Chapter 6 for why God approaches Mack using the appearance 
of a loving, sassy, black woman? How can "religious conditioning" (p. 93) become a barrier in 
relating to God? Why would Mack consider God's approach "kind," "compassionate," "strange, painful, 
and wonderful?" If God tailored his approach to you, what form might God take to get past your 
resistances? What form and appearance did God take according to Philippians 2:4-11? What range of 
reactions did God get in that form? 



Day 4	One falsehood that Mack has convinced himself of in dealing with his great sadness is that 
God abandoned him in his moment(s) of greatest need. After all, his reasoning seems to go, wasn't 
that what God did to Jesus on the cross (see Matthew 27:46)? How does Papa explain He was there 
despite Jesus' cry? Have you known times it felt as though God abandoned you? Would it change your 
perspective on those events to consider God WAS there anguishing with you? As Jesus foresaw his cross 
experience he knew all would abandon himn except who (see John 16:32)? What's Jesus' promise to us? 
Matt. 28:20?



Day 5	Papa (p.97) says "living unloved is like clipping a bird's wings and removing its ability to 
fly." How has God's love for you given you back the ability to live more fully? How could it? How does 
Papa say Jesus was dependent on him to fully live? What does Jesus say in John 5:19-20 that confirms 
that assertion? According to John 14:12-18 how does the God-empowered life apply to us? How is God 
being love essential to God's Trinitarian nature? What does it mean to you that God's actions are by 
nature consistent with love?