Revelation 21:1-4

1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Reflection:
Heavenly Father
You always amaze me
Let your kingdom come
In my world and in my life
You give me the food I need
To live through the day
And forgive me as I forgive
The people that wronged me
Lead me far from temptation
Deliver me from the evil one
I look out the window
The birds are composing
Not a note is out of tune
Or out of place
I look at the meadow
And stare at the flowers
Better dressed than any girl
On her wedding day
So why do I worry?
Why do I freak out?
God knows what I need
You know what I need
Your love is
Your love is
Your love is strong

- Excerpt from Jon Foreman “Your Love is Strong”

Response:
In today’s passage, we see the church, the bride of Christ, who will be the best dressed, beautifully ready for her husband, the bridegroom Jesus Christ.  Even now, we are being molded to be the most beautifully dressed as we recognize that all we need is in Christ. Let’s ask the Lord to make this a reality in our lives today.  Because of his love and goodness towards us, let’s thank God for drawing us near to Him as He prepares us to be the bride of Christ.

Ephesians 4:14-16

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Reflection:
The most important thing when eating a salad is to make sure there is enough lettuce, vegetables and dressing with each bite.  In order to get the perfect bite, usually the salad is vigorously shaken and/or tossed, causing all the components in the salad to be displaced.  Similarly, in today’s passage, Paul uses the imagery of an infant being tossed and turned to describe what happens to the church when they are easily influenced by false teaching. Because they are not firmly grounded in the truth, the church can also be tossed back and forth.  But Paul goes on to paint a beautiful image of what the church in its maturity will be like, one that speaks the truth in love and builds each other up. Tossing is appropriate for salad making, but not for the church! So let us do our part, as part of the body.

Response:
Let’s pray that as a body of Christ, we will continue to grow into maturity, being firmly rooted in the truth as we acknowledge that Christ is the head. Let’s ask for the Spirit to help us do our part in the body so that the church may grow up in love.

Ephesians 2:14-18

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Reflection:
The Spirit breaks down the barriers of hostility that exists in humanity. The passage attests that the problem is not whether Jews were right or the Gentiles, for Paul takes no sides. It is neither group because the basic framework of law and regulation was wrong, so now the new framework of the Spirit creates a new humanity of reconciliation. A new people of God! We all share access to the Father by the Spirit! Think about what keeps us together, or even how we appreciate this incredible commonality.

Response:
Going beyond what is physical, imagine all the people living in the world, without any walls, barriers and defenses to keep them apart. Other people can only dream about this today. As believers, we do know that this is only possible through the Spirit of God sent for His people. There is nothing more harmonious in this world than the people of God living together according to the Spirit that lives in them. There is nothing less that we could hope for as we relate with one another and to those who we are inviting to get to know Him as well through his church. All things are possible for us to love and reach out to others because we are no longer bound by our differences since the Spirit is with us. True peace can only come from the Spirit. Let’s pray today, that we are enabled to move beyond our own made up borders and limitations and into the life He has given us to love and give our lives for. 

Romans 12:3-8

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Reflection:
Living in a world that defines successes and failures by what people do and how they live their life, we may find ourselves getting caught up in doing whatever it takes to fall under the “success” category.  After all, who wants to be a failure? As a result, we put on layers and layers of things that the world expects us to be. Whether directly or indirectly, we are competing against our neighbors, our co-workers, our classmates, or anyone who stands in the way of your success. This drive can easily distort the way we view people we encounter everyday, including those in our own communities.  In today’s passage, Paul urges the people to take a step back and to think soberly about who they really are, peeling back the layers to expose what they are really made of.  No matter how self-sufficient we think we are in this life, the truth is, we are a people in need of a Savior.  As we come to this realization, we begin to see how much we need to depend on God moment by moment.  As we humbly recognize who we truly are before God, our faith can grow in a way that changes the way we view others.

Response:
Let’s pray and declare that we will depend on the Lord today and as we depend on him, may our faith increase even more.  Let’s also pray that as we depend on the Lord, may our eyes be opened to see the people of God from His perspective and that this will cause us to use our gifts to build and encourage the community that the Lord has called us to serve.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (New International Version)

1 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (New International Version)

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Reflection:

This life in Christ is plain and simple when we don’t make it about ourselves but simply trust and obey the Lord.  Apostle Paul’s heart for the Corinthian church was that their faith would not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power alone.  Paul understood that his life in the Lord is merely “treasure in jars of clay” and that all focus must be on the treasure not on the clay jar that holds it.  He was not the best speaker, but that was okay, because he knew it was not about him, but it was all about God. Paul lived out the Gospel with his life and proclaimed Jesus Christ and nothing else.  We too are to live out the Gospel so that God will be glorified through us.

Response:

Let’s spend some time humbly coming before the Lord as we wrap up our week.  Let’s pray that we will fully live out the Gospel depending on God’s power alone and not on our own strength.  Let’s proclaim Jesus Christ and nothing else.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (New International Version)

19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Reflection:

Isn’t it interesting that Paul was free, and yet he chose to become slave to everyone?  Being a slave is not what we think of when we talk about freedom.  However, Paul didn’t become slave because this was something he wanted to be, but he chose this way of life so that he may win over as many as possible for the Lord.  As you can see this true freedom that Paul had was regulated by the love of God.  Paul exercised this freedom by becoming slave to everyone for the sake of the gospel.  We too are truly free in Christ, and we can express this freedom by becoming servants to those around us so that they may be saved.  May we do all this for the sake of the gospel that we may share in its blessings.

Response:

Let’s pray that God will help us to live out this true freedom that is regulated by His incredible love for us.  Let’s respond to God’s great love by becoming all things to all people so that by all possible means we might save some.

1 Corinthians 3:6, 16-17 (New International Version)

6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplatethe Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Ephesians 1:15-23 (New International Version)

15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Reflection:

For all of our lives we have been told to do things in the world’s way and under the world’s rules. Yet, when we encountered Christ and received His Spirit in our hearts something incredible happened. All those old ways of living and responding to life’s circumstances are now no longer valid, because Jesus has given us a new hope and a new way to live. It is by God’s power, the same power that raised Christ from the dead, that we can see real victory in our lives. It is not by our own strength or cunning, but the power of God through His Son Jesus Christ, that we live. This is the new way, and the new hope by which we are called to live.

Response:

Let’s pray that as we live in this new way that we would also be messengers of what Christ has done for us to those we are trying to reach out to on our campuses, in our work places, and in our communities. Let’s pray that God’s power would be made real in each of their lives, so that they too would receive this same hope that we now have in Christ.

Isaiah 53 (New International Version)

1 Who has believed our message

and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,

a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain

and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

stricken by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

Yet who of his generation protested?

For he was cut off from the land of the living;

for the transgression of my people he was punished.

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his death,

though he had done no violence,

nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

11 After he has suffered,

he will see the light of life and be satisfied;

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,

and he will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,

and he will divide the spoils with the strong,

because he poured out his life unto death,

and was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (New International Version)

26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Reflection:

Have you applied to something where all the other applicants seemed to be such a better fit for the task than you could ever be? It’s pretty daunting, right? But, fortunately for us, living for God isn’t like anything else we could try to do in life.

Christ did not have anything in his outward appearance to draw us to Him. Yet, it was not what He looked like that mattered, but who He was and what He did for us. In the same way, God does not love us or call us to live for Him because of these outside things or based on what position we hold in life. Therefore, even though we might be the worst possible candidates for the position, God can use even the most unlikely of people to do even the greatest of things for the Kingdom. We can be confident of this because we know that it is about His love and grace in our lives that matters, and it is that same love and grace that others will see and also want for themselves.

Response:

Let’s pray that we would not trust in our appearances, our talents, or our abilities to be able to minister to others, but that we would trust that it is God’s Spirit that will shine through our lives and in our hearts so that those around us may see and know Christ in a real and powerful way.