Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Reflection
These few verses describe a race that has been marked out for us. It doesn’t matter how good of a runner we think we are, but what matters is that we run without holding on to things that could weigh us or slow us down. We are to run with purpose and perseverance, not giving up, but instead fixing our eyes upon Jesus. Only then will we not get tired and discouraged. We can look to Jesus, because He ran this race before us. It was a race that would lead to His life laid down but He endured it for the joy set before Him. And this joy was us, the Church! How great is the love of Christ! As we run the race set before us, we do not lose heart but we are being filled with joy as we fix our eyes on Jesus.
Response
Let’s ask that we would be servants of our Lord, following in His footsteps as He went before us on this path of love and sacrifice. May we know and receive this same joy as we lay down our lives for ministry - in loving God and loving others.
]]>Ephesians 5:1-2
1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Reflection
Some grow up knowing and experiencing great love from someone, whether it be from a parent, family member, friend, teacher, or neighbor. And perhaps this may affect us in such a way that it leaves us wanting to be like that person when we grow up or wanting to do the same for someone else. But whether we had this experience growing up or not, we all have and can experience an even greater love today. Christ loved us and made the ultimate sacrifice for us, greater than any sacrifice anyone could ever make. So now as dearly loved children, we all can walk in the way of love.
Response:
Christ is our example. He gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Let’s pray that we would walk in the way of love and sacrifice each day as we are at work, school or at home with our families or roommates. Let’s pray that all we do in ministry will be in the love of our Lord.
]]>1 Corinthians 2:1-5
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.
Reflection
There is an entire industry devoted to aftermarket performance parts for cars. You might buy a big spoiler to make your car look faster and maybe a new exhaust to make it even sound faster. But in the end, no matter how persuasive it looks or sounds, your car isn’t really faster at all. Paul challenges us to consider what we depend on as we minister. We don’t need fancy words, convincing arguments or specific personalities, but we have access to real power. We can know our crucified and risen Lord. We can live each day full of purpose and free of distractions, seeking to respond to God’s great love by loving Him and loving others. And seeing faith springing forth in others as a result of His power in their lives. This is the real power that we depend on as we minister and love this generation.
Response
Let’s pray that our faith will not rest on human wisdom but on God’s power. Let’s come to the cross once again with all of our worldly notions and dependences and confess that its all about Christ alone. May we resolve to know and depend on nothing else but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Let’s ask for the Spirit’s power as we minister to others and for hearts to be softened and turned to the Lord.
]]>Colossians 4:2-6
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Reflection
People devote or dedicate their lives to many things in life. Some are devoted to routines such as a daily morning coffee, or a morning run. Some are devoted to favorite things, places or food. We all devote ourselves to something - things that help us, things that make us feel good, things we think that will better us in some way.
In this passage, we see Paul encouraging the Colossians to devote themselves to something entirely different, to someone other than themselves. Paul knew that all things come from God. Even Paul’s competence came from the Lord. Paul depended on prayer for the ministry to which God had called him because there was no one else he could turn to for such a crucial and important part of his life.
Response
To what do we devote ourselves? Especially when it comes to the important things in our lives such as ministry. Will we rely on ourselves, our own experiences and strengths, or routines? No! Let us devote ourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Let’s ask God to help us as we proclaim the mystery of Christ. Let’s ask God to open doors in the hearts and places to which He has called us. May He open our mouths and our lives to proclaim the gospel and only the gospel as clearly as we should.
]]>2 Corinthians 2:14-3:6
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.
3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Such confidence we have through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 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.
Reflection
We have so many things these days that serve to validate ourselves, to prove that we’re capable of doing whatever it is we’re supposed to do. We have diplomas and certificates, titles and business cards. But in the Kingdom, when it comes to our credentials as ministers, the one thing that truly matters is who God calls us to be and what He has done in our lives. Our competency comes not from our achievements and accomplishments but from the work of the Spirit. We can trust that God alone has made us competent and able for all that we’re called to do.
Response
Let’s remember and receive again God’s provision for us as ministers. Not just what we think is adequate, but abundant provision of the Spirit, because of what He has done on the cross and through the resurrection. Pray that we would depend on His calling and provision over us so we can joyfully and confidently minister to others.
]]>Psalm 145 (NIV)
I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name forever and ever.
Every day I will praise you
and extol your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
They tell of the power of your awesome works—
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
All your works praise you, Lord;
your faithful people extol you.
They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
Let every creature praise his holy name forever and ever.
Reflection
Psalm 145 tells of how good our God is, how wonderful and perfect His care is for us, how faithful He is, and how mighty His salvation is. This is our God! He gives us so many reasons to sing praises about Him, so many reasons to share the wonder and awe of Him with those around us. He is truly is God, our God who is slow to anger and rich in love. Furthermore, His kingdom is one that will endure throughout all generations. Read it all again…and again.May this be the expression of our lives in worship!
Responding to the Transmission
In prayer and praise, come before the Lord and thank Him for all He has done for us this week and how gracious He has been in our lives. Re-read Psalm 145, out loud if you can, and this time in prayerful praise to Him, making it personal and real. (See example below.)
I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name forever and ever.
Every day I will praise you
and extol your name forever and ever.
Great are You Lord and most worthy of my praise;
Your greatness I can’t fathom.
Etc…
Today and throughout this weekend, praise the Lord this way and let these worship-filled truths shape your life and deepen your love.
]]>Luke 7:36-50 (NIV)
When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Reflection
We are invited into a life of worship because of all that Jesus has done for us.We are His crew and therefore all the blessings of God have been poured out on us.But the means to this type of worship is quite contrary to what we or even the world may think, in fact it can seem scandalous in many ways.This story, this encounter, this woman found the means to real worship.By grace she recognized her need and inadequacy to truly worship God, and in turn feel at the feet of the only one who could touch, heal and transform her life.Grace, mercy, forgiveness, and faith…“go in peace.” The woman’s heart was so undone, transformed, and healed by the Lord’s touch in her life.There was no other “reasonable” response for her than to reciprocate what she had received from him in such loving adoration and extravagant worship.Now that is real worship!
Responding to the Transmission
Today we are invited once again into ‘real worship’ by the grace of God, and in the salvation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.Let’s come before the Lord with our ‘many sins and wrong ways’ so we can be touched afresh in His forgiveness, healing, transformation, and peace. Let’s pray that in turn our lives will be a living response of real and extravagant worship to our God.Pray for an overflow that stirs those around us to also come and know our Lord. Receive from Him deeply and ‘go in His peace’ today, extravagantly expressing your love for Him…that will be real worship!
]]>John 4:1-26 (NIV)
Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John—although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
“I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Reflection
Are you thirsty today?Are there routines that you must go through in order to face the day with relative order and peace?What do you need for another 24 hours?This is the backdrop of the passage – routine and satisfaction.We all have wells and because of God’s love for us, we can be sure that Jesus will be sitting there to offer us so much more.For each day we can really live in ways that are so deeply satisfying because of the ‘living water’ that Jesus has offered us in Him. This living water is relationship with God, deep and satisfying experiences of truth and worship that will surpass our perceived or old daily thirsts and routines.We will never thirst again as we have experienced and continue to experience this satisfaction in Christ.
Responding to the Transmission
What do we really want today…what ‘well’ is drawing us out to find satisfaction?God has created in us a life where truth and worship quench every desire and overwhelm us with life and joy.Let’s pray and ask the Lord to make us deeply aware of His presence at each ‘well and thirst’ we may find ourselves at today.May we find Him and worship Him today. Drink of the Lord today and be satisfied.
]]>Romans 8:31-39 (NIV)
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Reflection
There are so many things in the course of a day that seem to interfere with our relationship with God. There are even experiences and situations that can jolt us so much that we wonder if God loves us, or if we even love God anymore.This is the realm and reality that our lives live ‘within.’But this reality is not the full picture of what ‘real life’ is for those who are loved by the love that God has revealed and made real in Christ Jesus our Lord.God in this love made real through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus has given us everything we need to walk through the difficulties, hold strong in the ‘jolts’ of faith, and be faithful amidst all the life-interference.Nothing can separate us from this love and daily experience in this love…nothing.We have a life that is full of confidence and trust in the Lord, living in his strength, power and victory.
Responding to the Transmission
Today in prayer, let’s thank the Lord for His inseparable love for us in Christ Jesus.And out of that thankfulness let’s ask the Lord to fill us with His Spirit so we can experience more and more of this love in every detail, decision, and dilemma that we have today.If you are in the midst of something ‘jolting’ or hard, once again pray through this passage and declare this ‘real life/reality’ over your life for the day and week.Trust the Lord and walk closely in His love and answers to your prayer this week.
]]>Romans 5:6-11 (NIV)
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Reflection
There are certain foods that we grew up eating that hold a sense of nostalgia or sentimental appeal, and there are also foods that we would go to whenever we were sick. These types of food are commonly call, comfort foods. However our true and real “food’ and true and real “comfort” is what God has done for us in Christ Jesus: that while we still sinners, Christ died for us, and we have now been reconciled to God through Christ. Our ultimate need and therefore heart comfort was to be reconciled with God. That is exactly what He did when He came and rescued us, and made the way for us to know Him and find our deepest need satisfied in Him. This is the real “food” and the real “comfort” that we are invited to experience and receive in Him.
Responding to the Transmission
Today let’s remember this truth: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He has satisfied our deepest need and our most needed comfort in life. In this truth and therefore reality for our lives, let’s live as those who have received God’s reconciliation and rescue, really loving God and freely loving others. Spend some time praying and asking for the Spirit’s presence and empowering to live this out in tangible ways. With each step and with each decision let’s trust in how God is leading our lives, being satisfied in Him and all that he has done for us.
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