Wednesday October 13, 2021

Today is Wednesday, October 13 and this week we are exploring how our faith multiplies when we disciple and serve others.

As I enter a time of prayer, I pause and become still. I quiet my busy mind and calm my thoughts. I breathe deeply and slowly, and center myself upon the presence of God.

Pause and Pray

Holy and loving God, in these moments of stillness, let me experience your presence. Enable me to hear your voice and discover the unique message you have for me today. Come Holy Spirit, lead and guide me in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.

I rejoice in God’s goodness and praise him with the words of Psalm 4.

Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the Lord. Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?” Let the light of your face shine on us. Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound. In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:5-8

Pause and Pray

Sacrifices are expected of a Christian. Early on, sacrifices became the heart of the worship of God in the Old Testament. There were two main purposes for sacrifices: (1) cleansing from sin and (2) expressing thanksgiving and devotion to God. The Old Testament sacrifices were insufficient for salvation, but pointed to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). God still wants our sacrifices today, not animal sacrifices like in the Old Testament, but the sacrifices of our lives wholly dedicated to him. We are to live lives rich with deeds of kindness done to our fellow humans and committing all our resources to God’s work. According to Jesus, sacrificing our lives is what is expected of his followers.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. Matthew 16:24-27

I hear these words that Jesus spoke to his disciples spoken directly to me. I want to be a disciple of Jesus and I want to follow him. I consider what it means to deny myself in order to walk with him. I consider what it means to take up my cross and carry it as I serve him. I consider what it means to lose my life for Jesus. I visualize an altar in a place of Christian worship, like my church home. This is the place where holy communion is served – the bread is broken and the cup of Christ is lifted. Jesus said I am to break the bread and drink the cup in remembrance of him. Jesus said the bread is his body, broken for me. Jesus said the wine is his blood poured out for me for the forgiveness of sins. This is the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for me, placed on the altar of God. At the end of the United Methodist communion liturgy there is a place for me to respond and offer my sacrifice to Jesus. I offer myself as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for me.

Ask: How can I offer myself to God, a holy and living sacrifice? What part of me am I holding back and not willing to offer to God?

Pause and Pray

God, you are holy, you are loving, you are God. Lord, I want to follow Jesus, I want to be a true disciple and walk in the way that leads to life. I want to lay my life upon the altar of your grace and be a living sacrifice with a life wholly dedicated to you. Show me what I need to relinquish, in order to better follow Jesus. I read the scripture from Matthew again and listen for what you are saying to me.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. Matthew 16:24-27

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

Where do I find myself in today’s scripture? What is God saying to me about self-denial and self-sacrifice? I name before God the things I need to deny myself. I ask God for the grace to reject these things. I consider what it means for me to gain the whole world. What does worldly gain look like to me? I ponder times when I chased after the things of this world and how it may put my soul in jeopardy. I consider what it would be like to lose the parts of my life that I greedily grasp. Jesus promises the moment of relinquishment is the precise point when I will find true life in him. I imagine a cross before me, lying on the ground, waiting for someone to pick it up. What does this cross represent to me? What will it take for me to pick up my cross today and follow Jesus?

Pause and Pray

Loving Lord Jesus, I want to follow you and be a faithful disciple. Help me to understand what I need to set down and leave behind on my journey. Help me to understand what I need to pick up and carry as I strive to follow you. I can only do this through the power of your Holy Spirit and through your grace at work in my life. Lead me, Lord, and I will follow. Amen.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1

As I leave this time of prayer, I thank Jesus for giving himself to me. I go from this place in the strength of the Holy Spirit to give myself for others. Amen.