Monday May 16, 2022

Today is Monday, May 16 and we are exploring what the bible says about the role of the community in sanctification.

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

Pause and Pray

Blessed Lord, I long to experience your presence during these early moments of my day. I want to hear your voice above all other voices in my life. Speak to my heart and mind the message you have for me. Come, Holy Spirit, show me how I can find Christian community and mature as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Amen.

I rejoice in God’s faithfulness and praise him for his righteousness with the words of Psalm 85.

Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. Psalm 85:10-11

Pause and Pray

Christians are justified and sanctified by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Over time, through the work of the Holy Spirit, disciples mature in holiness and grow in love. One of the ways this is accomplished in the life of the believer is fellowship with other Christians. Wesleyan theologian and author Kevin Watson says, “Christians are not formed in isolation. The pursuit of holiness is a communal endeavor.” Sometimes cultural Christianity promotes individualism and suggests that basic tenets of the faith can be embraced or ignored as one chooses. The result is an absence of common beliefs and practices to bind the community together. Fellowship with God and other believers is a primary means of growing in sanctifying grace. (Kevin M. Watson, Perfect Love) Read what John’s first epistle says about fellowship.

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:3-7

Because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, I enjoy fellowship with God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This loving relationship fills me with utter and complete joy. Alongside my fellowship with God, I long to be in fellowship with other Christians who reject darkness, profess truth and endeavor to walk in the light. Being a part of a faith filled Christian community of believers is an essential ingredient to my spiritual growth. As I enjoy fellowship with others, I join to support, encourage and hold one another accountable to live a life of faith. I rejoice in the knowledge that the blood of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit works to purify me and my community from all sin.

Ask: What is my current experience of Christian community? How might God want me to foster deep, authentic relationships with faithful followers of Jesus?

Pause and Pray

Holy and loving God, thank you for inviting me into fellowship with you and a community of people who believe in your Son Jesus. Fill me with the joy of your presence and reveal your message of truth to my heart. I want to walk in the light with you and others. I reject darkness, falsehood and lies. I seek to live for truth, enjoy fellowship with the faithful and pursue purification through the Holy Spirit. I read the words from First John again and listen for the message you have for me.

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:3-7

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

God wants to teach me something about my place in the fellowship of Christian believers. I contemplate the Christians I know (or have known) who I consider mature in the faith. I name them and give thanks. I reflect on what it is (or was) about them that indicates their spiritual maturity. Who are the Christians I currently have fellowship with? Who is my community? How do we walk together – in truth and light or in lies and darkness? Are we striving for holiness together and growing in grace? Perhaps God wants to reveal something to me about my current community. Maybe God wants me to join in fellowship with other Christians or strengthen my relationships with certain believers.

Pause and Pray

Come, Holy Spirit, I invite you to labor within me and mold the state of my soul. Call me into fellowship with other believers and teach me what it means to have authentic Christian relationships where iron sharpens iron and we grow together in strength and love. Reveal the people with whom I can mature in the faith and bless our journey with your abiding presence. Amen.

Truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. Matthew 18:19-20

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:1

I leave this time of prayer seeking authentic Christian community and welcoming opportunities to share in the lives of others.

Amen