Thursday May 19, 2022

Today is Thursday, May 19 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.

In the morning I turn to the Lord and inquire of him with the ancient words of Psalm 15.

Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart. Psalm 15:1-2

Pause and Pray

The Methodist doctrine of sanctification was connected to the particular discipline of watching over one another in love in small groups. John Wesley believed that holiness was a communal endeavor. Sanctification is best pursued in an intimate fellowship of believers – a safe place where I can put everything on the table, hide nothing, confess my sin, to be healed, set free and made holy. Wesley organized the Methodists into groups called societies, classes and bands. Regular attendance and full participation was expected. Band meetings were radically honest gatherings where believers received needed prayer. They were not just gatherings for surface level fellowship, they were deep places of soul baring where disciples could speak the truth in love.

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. 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. 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. Ephesians 4:14-16

In the first century when Paul wrote the book of Ephesians, false teachers abounded. It was the same in the day of John Wesley as well as in the current day. Immature Christians can be tossed back and forth and blown here and there like theological babes in a storm of ideas and confusing half truths. I am called to grow and mature in my faith and understanding. I want people to speak the truth in love to me so that I can grow in every aspect of God’s expectations. I want to be a part of a church where Jesus Christ is the head, the bible is the source of truth and I am joined together with other strong believers being built up in love.

Ask: What are the relationships in my life where I feel safe enough to “speak the truth in love?” Do I possess the humility necessary to receive that type of honest truth from another believer?

Pause and Pray

Holy and Loving God, I long for your truth. Let me not be deceived by those who speak with cunning and craft, give me ears to hear honest truth spoken in love. I no longer want to be a spiritual infant, but hope to grow mature in the faith, joining with other believers to be built up into a faithful church that serves your kingdom. I read the words from Ephesians again and listen for the message you have for me.

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. 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. 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. Ephesians 4:14-16

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 speak to me about the essential influence of faithful believers on my journey in holiness. Who are those people in my life today? I thank God for them. I consider what words or images from the scripture resonate most with me. Words like infant, baby, tossed, or blown. Words like cunning, craft, deceit, or schemes. Words like truth, love, growth, or maturity. Words like whole, joined, built up or bound together. Where do I find myself in today’s scripture? What might this reveal about the current state of my soul? What is God trying to tell me about my present need for Christian community?

Pause and Pray

Come, Holy Spirit, bring your amazing sanctifying grace to bear in my heart and soul. Speak honest truth into my life with love and boldness. Give me ears to listen, the will to understand, a spirit of receptivity and a heart filled with love. Grow me in holiness and grant me faithful friends to progress with on the way. Amen.

Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:18b-20

I leave this time of prayer filled with the Holy Spirit, ready to speak goodness and love into the lives of those around me.

Amen