A PRAYER TO START
This prayer of exhalation of who God is and supplication for him to be so to you and I, is adapted from a prayer from John Ballie. Pray today…
Our Father, holy is your name. Special are you in the life of every man, women and child who has ever breathed. Especially those who recognize with a thankful heart all that you have been for us,
Companion of the brave;
Supporter of the loyal;
Light of the wanderer;
Joy of the pilgrim;
Guide of the pioneer;
Helper of all whose work is heavy;
Refuge for the brokenhearted;
Deliverer of the oppressed;
Relief of the tempted;
Strength of the victorious;
Ruler of rulers;
Friend of the poor and needy;
Rescuer of the perishing;
Hope of the dying.
Give me faith today to believe that you can be all in all to me, according to my need, when I stop living self-dependently and put all my trust in you. Show your mercy today to all who need your help, including me. Be with the weak to make them strong and with the strong to make them gentle. Cheer the lonely with your company and the distracted with your solitude. Prosper your Church in the fulfillment of our mighty task, and grant your blessing to all who have been worked hard this week in Christ’s name. Amen.
TAKING A LOOK AHEAD
On any journey, whether a hike in the mountains or a trek to the grocery store, it is important to be aware of your surroundings, to be present. It’s also important to know where you are going! To look up, and take a peek at what is ahead.
This week our expedition’s path has us crossing through a treacherous ravine of a phrase in our following of Jesus. It is all too easy, and sadly common, to have your footing slip and find yourself curled-up, hidden in shame or having your heart hardened in resolve. The danger of such a pass requires us to pay close attention to where we are walking. More specifically, to whose steps we are walking in.
Read Matthew 5:43-48, paying careful attention to verse 48. As you are reading take notice and note of the following:
Who are the characters in the story? Explicitly named and those assumed.
Where does the story take place? Physically, & how is it connected to what proceeds it?
What repeats? Words, characters, actions/events, sayings, descriptions, etc.
What surprised you?
What might have surprised the people Matthew was writing to?
What questions does the story raise so far?
CONNECTING THE DOTS
The idea of “perfection” in the life of faith has been the cause for many to abandon the life and for many others to pursue twisted standards in order to achieve it. When you hear Jesus’ phrase, “You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”, what emotions initially begin to well up inside you?
In what ways can you describe the life this phrase makes you picture?
How does the image you imagine differ or look similar to what you imagine your friends and co-workers think of when they consider a life of faith?
Consider the concept of “perfection” and how it might affect the way you think about following Jesus, and all that such a life requires.
Do you struggle more with feeling like you cannot measure up the status of a “good Christ follower”, or more with doing everything exactly right because you are a “good Christ follower?
In what ways does your struggle impact your relationship with God and with others?
Do you ever think of God as trying to catch you in a wrong or holding you to an expectation you cannot meet or even punishing you because you might be missing something, etc.?
What situations cause you to think this way?
Do you think your friends every feel this way?
In what ways are such feelings and thoughts counter—or untrue—to the God you know in Jesus? Why then do we often fall into them?
This phrase is treacherous to our faith because we often read it out of context. In verses leading up (43-47), what is the subject of the conversation?
Who, when and how does God love in this context? What does that reveal of God's character?
If love is the subject, what then are we to perfect like God perfects?
If God does indeed perfect love, what does that mean for you and I, and our friends who don’t believe?
What imagines come to mind of a life lived in which you are loved perfectly and relate to others with the same love you have already received?
A THOUGHT TO PONDER
“In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins, so to clear away the damage done to our relationship with God. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another so.”
(1 John 4:10-11)