life in the spirit
online journal
Week one:
day one reflection:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that
whoever believes in him should not perish,
but have eternal life." (Jn 3:16)
Read Scripture: Gospel of John Chapter 1:1-18
God is not someone who lives far away in a place you can never reach. Nor is he a heavenly warden, eager to punish you for doing wrong. He is a father who loves you. He says to you:
"I have loved you with an everlasting love, so I am constant in my affection for you." (Jer 31:3)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day two reflection
Read Scripture: Gospel of John Chapter 1:29-34
You can know God and know how much he loves you. He wants to be in a personal relationship with you. He wants you to be his son or daughter. He does not want there to be any barrier or distance between you and him. He promised through the prophet Jeremiah:
"I will be their God and they shall be my people.
There will be no further need for neighbor to try to teach neighbour, or brother to say to brother, 'Learn to know the Lord!' No, they will all know me, the least no less than the greatest - it is the Lord who speaks ~
since I will forgive their iniquity and never call their sin to mind," (Jer 31:33-34)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day three reflection:
Read Scripture: Gospel of John Chapter 1:35-42
He loves you. God the creator of the universe, the one who made all things out of nothing, loves you, He wants to care for you and give you a better life. He promised:
"I myself will pasture my sheep, I myself will show them where to rest -it is the Lord God who speaks. I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong.
I shall watch over the healthy and the strong. I shall be a true shepherd to them." (Ezek 34:14-16)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day four reflection
Read Scripture: Gospel of John Chapter 1:43-51
Because he loves us. God sent his only son to save us.
He sent Jesus so that we might have life, a better life now, a life that will last eternally.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (Jn 3:16)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day five reflection:
Read Scripture: Colossians Chapter 1:1-8
God loves you. He is speaking to you now, reaching out to you. He is saying to you:
"Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty; though you have nothing, come! Why spend money on what is not bread, your wages on what fails to satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and you will have good things to eat and rich food to enjoy. Pay attention, come to me; listen, and your soul will live. With you I will make an everlasting covenant because of my sure, steadfast love." (Isaiah 55: 1 -3)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day six reflection
Read Scripture: Colossians Chapter 1:9-14
If you wish to know God, if you wish to have the life he offers, you can. Just turn to him and reach out to him. He invites you:
"I know the plans I have for you - it is the Lord who speaks -plans for peace, not disaster, reserving a future full of hope for you. When you call to me, and come and pray to me, I will listen to you. When you seek me, you shall find me." (Jer 29:11-13)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day seven reflection:
Read Scripture: Colossians Chapter 1:15-23
Sometimes God seems so far away. Sometimes it seems like we can never reach him, But he is not far away. He is very close to you, and right now he is trying to show himself to you in a fuller way than ever before. he promises:
"The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth." (Ps 145:18)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
Week two:
day one reflection:
Read Scripture: John 3:1-15
We find ourselves in a world that has something seriously wrong with it. Daily we read about wars, murders, poverty, racial conflict, exploitation. Daily we see in others and in ourselves loneliness, depression, anxiety, boredom, suspicion, mistrust, quarreling, hatred. Yet God did not create the world to be this way, nor does he want it to be this way.
He promised:
“He has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that He loves, and in him we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.” (Col 1:13-14)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day two reflection
Read Scripture: John 3:16-21
Many people offer to us plans for making the world a better place. Better education, more technical skills, new political programs, sociological wisdom, drugs. are all offered as solutions. Man-made religions (Buddhism, Bahai, Zen, yoga, and many others) are presented to us as the hope of the world. Some even tell us that a Christian moral code without Christ is the solution. But all these are human thoughts, man-made plans. The Lord says:
"Yes, the heavens are as high above the earth as my ways are above your ways,
my thoughts above your thoughts." (Isa 55:9)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day three reflection:
Read Scripture: John 3: 22-30
We need more than human ideas and human power. We need the wisdom and power of God. We are facing a power that is greater than human power. Behind the world's evils is an evil intelligence, a kingdom of evil spirits, something greater than we are. Each of us has sensed what Paul tells us:
"For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the Sovereignties and the Powers who originate the darkness in this world, the spiritual army of evil in the heavens." (Eph 6:12)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day four reflection
Read Scripture: Acts 2: 1-21
God's answer to the world's need is Jesus Christ. Jesus was sent into the world to save us, to free us from the power of Satan and of the world, so that we might live a new life now and forevermore.
"Martha said to Jesus, 'If you had been here. my brother would not have died, but I know that, even now whatever you ask of God, he will grant you.' Jesus said, 'I am the resurrection and the life. It anyone believes in me, even if he dies he will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?' 'Yes, Lord', she said, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world." (Jn 11:21-27)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day five reflection:
Read Scripture: Acts 2: 22-24
Our freedom costs something. Jesus had to die so that we might live. But God loved us enough to send his son. who willingly died for us. As Paul says:
"It is not easy to die even for a good man - though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die - but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners."
(Rom 5:6-8)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day six reflection
Read Scripture: Acts 2: 29-33
Jesus died and rose from the dead so that we might have new life. If he had not died, if he had not undergone the sufferings he did, we could not have been freed from sin and from the power of Satan. The prophet Isaiah spoke of Christ:
"Ours were the sufferings he bore, ours the sorrows he carried. He was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins. On him lies a punishment that brings us peace, and through his wounds we are healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each taking his own way, and the Lord burdened him with the sins of all of us." (Isa 53:4-6)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day seven reflection:
Read Scripture: Acts 2: 36-47
When Jesus rose from the dead, he had defeated the power of Satan. Now he can free you from the power of darkness and the hold of Satan’s kingdom. He can give you a whole new life, if you are willing to leave the old.
"He has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves, and in him we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins." (Col 1:13-14)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
Week three:
day one reflection:
Read Scripture: John 4: 4-26
Throughout the ages, prophets predicted that the day would come when God would give his Spirit freely to us. Those who turned to him and received his Spirit would be changed. They would be new people with a new life.
"The Lord God says this, 'I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead… I shall put my spirit in you. You shall be my people and I will be your God." (Ezek. 36:25-28)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day two reflection
Read Scripture: John 4: 27-42
Jesus promised before he died that he would give his followers the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will live in you and give you a new life. The promise of Jesus is for everyone. Jesus says:
"If you love me you will keep my commandments. I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever, that Spirit of truth whom the world can never receive it neither sees nor knows him; but you know him, because he is with you. I will not leave you orphans." (John 14:15-18)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day three reflection:
Read Scripture: John 4: 46-54
On the day of Pentecost, Jesus' disciples were gathered together in one room in prayer, and the Holy Spirit which Jesus promised came on them. From that moment on, they were changed men.
"When Pentecost day come round, they were ail filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech." (Acts 2:1-4)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day four reflection
Read Scripture: Acts 13: 1-12
You can experience the Holy Spirit the same way the first disciples did. Whether you have been a Christian for a while or have never believed in Christ before, you can receive whatever is missing in your experience of the life of the Spirit. What happened to the disciples at Ephesus can happen to you.
"When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and the moment Paul had laid hands on them the Holy Spirit came down on them, and they began to speak with tongues and to prophesy. There were about twelve of these men." (Acts 19:5-7)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day five reflection:
Read Scripture: Acts 13: 13-25
When the Holy Spirit is released in you, you will begin to experience a new kind of life. You will know God in a new way. That new life will grow in you until you become a changed person. Paul describes the result by saying:
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day six reflection
Read Scripture: Acts 13: 26-33
As you grow in faith in the Holy Spirit in you, you will begin to experience him working in you in new ways so that you can serve others. He will equip you with spiritual gifts, gifts which will give you a new power to do his work. Paul talks about some of the" gifts in this way:
"The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose. One may have the word of wisdom given him by the Spirit; another may have the word of knowledge given him by the same Spirit; and another the gift of faith given by the same Spirit; another again the gift of healing through this one Spirit; one, the power of miracles; another, prophecy; another the gift of discerning spirits; another the gift of tongues and another the ability to interpret them. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who distributes different gifts to different people just as he chooses." (1 Corinthians 12:7-11)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day seven reflection:
Read Scripture: Acts 13: 44-52
God gives the Holy Spirit so that we can be joined to the body of Christ (the Church, the Christian community). The new life in the Spirit will allow you to be more closely united with other Christians in the Church and to experience a communion with them in the Spirit. God's word teaches:
"So you are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God's chosen household. You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone. As every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit." (Ephesians 2:19-22)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
Week four:
day one reflection:
Read Scripture: John 14: 1-9
God has a new life for you, because he loves you. It is a gift. You cannot earn it or deserve it.
God's word says:
"When the kindness and love of God our saviour for mankind were revealed, it was not because he was concerned with any righteous actions we might have done ourselves; it was for no reason except his own compassion that he saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit which he has so generously poured over us through Jesus Christ our saviour." (Tit 3:4-6)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day two reflection
Read Scripture: John 14: 12-14
The new life in the Spirit is a gift, but you have to turn to Jesus to receive it.
All those who come to him receive new life abundantly. Jesus says:
"If any man is thirsty, let him come to me! Let the man come and drink who believes in me! As scripture says: From his heart shall flow fountains of living water." (John 7:37-38)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day three reflection:
Read Scripture: John 14: 23-24
To turn to Jesus, you turn away from everything incompatible with the life he is offering (repentance) and accept the promises he is making (belief and faith). When you turn to Jesus in repentance and faith, he can give new life to you. Jesus says:
"The time has come and the kingdom of God is close at hand.
Repent and believe the good news (the gospel)." (Mk 1:15)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day four reflection
Read Scripture: John 14: 25-31
This new life is for everyone who will turn to the Lord. The gift of the Holy Spirit is for you. Satan will try to deceive you into thinking that you are someone who cannot be baptised in the Spirit, but the word of God says:
"You must repent, and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise that was made is for you and your children, and for all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God will call to himself."
(Acts 2:38-39)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day five reflection:
Read Scripture: Acts 8: 4-8
You cannot earn or deserve the gift of the Holy Spirit, but you do have to put away everything in your life which is incompatible with the Christian life. The new life means that you will be holy as God is holy. God's word says:
"You know perfectly well that people who do wrong will not inherit the kingdom of God: people of immoral lives, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, usurers, drunkards, slanderers and swindlers will never inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Cor. 6: 9-10)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day six reflection
Read Scripture: Acts 8: 14-17
Faith means relying on what God has promised. You know that God can do anything. You know that he does not lie. Rely on God's promises and claim them from him as Abraham did. And you will see him work in a new way in your life. God's word says:
"Since God had promised it, Abraham refused either to deny it or even to doubt it, but drew strength from faith and gave glory to God, convinced that God had power to do what he had promised..." (Rom 4:20-21)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day seven reflection:
Read Scripture: Acts 4: 23-31
When you turn to the Lord in repentance and faith, all you have to do is ask the Lord for the fullness of life in the Holy Spirit. We know that we can have the Holy Spirit, because God loves us and wants to be as fully united to us as possible. Jesus promises that the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.
"So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you. What father among you would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or hand him a snake instead of a fish? If you then, who are stingy, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:9-13)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
Week five:
day one reflection:
Read Scripture: John 15: 1-10
When you were prayed with yesterday, a change was made in your life. You can count on Satan to try to confuse you. You can count on God to be with you and to want to lead you to a new life. God's word says:
"Unload all your worries on to God, since he is looking after you. Be calm but vigilant, because your enemy the devil is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand up to him, strong in faith." (1 Pet 5:7-9)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day two reflection
Read Scripture: John 15: 11-17
The Lord has given you a new power in the Spirit. Make use of it. It may not seem like much at the moment. or it may seem like a lot, but make use of what he has given you, and it will increase. The Lord commands those who are faithful when he says:
"Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things. I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master's happiness.” (Matt 25:23)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day three reflection:
Read Scripture: John 15: 18-25
When you live in the Spirit, the Spirit prays in you. Let him pray in you often during the day, sometimes in English, sometimes in the new tongue he has given you. Even if you have only a few syllables in a new tongue or it you are not sure of it, pray in that tongue every day and it will grow. God's word encourages you:
"Pray all the time, asking for what you need, praying in the Spirit on every possible occasion." (Eph 6:18)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day four reflection
Read Scripture: John 15: 26-27
Learn to set your thoughts on the Lord and on the things of the Spirit. Think about the Lord. Meditate on the words of life he speaks. Understand how to live his life. If God's truth forms your mind, you will find life and peace. God's word promises you:
"To set the mind on what is unspiritual is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." (Rom 8:6)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day five reflection:
Read Scripture: Galatians 5: 13-15
The Lord wants you to have spiritual gifts, because he wants to give you power to serve him in an effective way. But he wants you to know that the aim of the Christian life is to love God and to love one another. That must be the centre of your concern. God's word says:
"Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts." (1 Cor 14:1)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day six reflection
Read Scripture: Galatians 5: 16-18
How can you tell if you are a spiritual person? Frequently people have the idea that we are spiritual if we have many spiritual gifts. But spiritual gifts are not a good measure of how spiritual we are. You can tell if you are a spiritual person by how much the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) characterizes your life. Paul warns us as he speaks to the Corinthians:
"Brothers, I myself was unable to speak to you as spiritual men: I treated you as sensual men, still infants in Christ. What I fed you with was milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it; and indeed, you are still not ready for it since you are still unspiritual. Isn't that obvious from all the jealousy and wrangling that there is among you?" (1 Cor 3:1-3)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day seven reflection:
Read Scripture: Galatians 5: 19-26
God wants us to live with him in heaven. The difficulties we face on earth are small compared with the glory of heaven. The gift of the Spirit is simply a first installment, a pledge of what is to come. God promises you:
"Yes, the troubles which are soon over, though they weigh little, train us for the carrying of a weight of eternal glory which is out of all proportion to them. For we know that when the tent that we live in on earth is folded up, there is a house built by God for us, an everlasting home not made by human hands, in the heavens. This is the purpose for which God made us, and he has given us the pledge of the Spirit."
(2 Cor 4:16, 5:1,5)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
Week six:
day one reflection:
Read Scripture: John 17: 1-10
Jesus has given you a new life through the Holy Spirit. The life of the Holy Spirit in you is not like a pool of water that you have to guard carefully or it will turn dry. It is like a flowing spring that will grow in you unless you do something to stop it up. Jesus promises you:
"Anyone who drinks the water that I shall give will never be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will turn into a spring inside him, welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day two reflection
Read Scripture: John 17: 11-19
Your life is in Christ; it comes from Christ. If you stay firmly joined to him, it will grow and bear fruit. If you let yourself be separated from him, it will wither away. Jesus says:
"I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty, for cut off from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is like a branch that has been thrown away - he withers." (John 15:5-6)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day three reflection:
Read Scripture: John 17: 20-26
Jesus has given you a new self, a new way of life which is more spiritual, happier and better than the old. But you must actively put away your old self so that you might experience this new life. God's word urges you:
"You must give up your old way of life; you must put aside your old self, which gets corrupted by following illusory desires. Your minds must be renewed by a spiritual revolution so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God’s way, in the goodness and holiness of the truth." (Eph. 4:22-23)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day four reflection
Read Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19
In order to keep in contact with God who is our source of life, you should pray. Jesus prayed. Although he was the son of God, although he was very busy, he knew he had to pray. You too have to pray if you wish to stay alive spiritually. Imitate Jesus.
"Jesus' reputation continued to grow, and large crowds would gather to hear him and to have their sickness cured, but he would always go off to some place where he could be alone and pray." (Lk 5:15-16)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day five reflection:
Read Scripture: Philippians 3: 7-11
In order to grow in the life of the Spirit, you need to know what God teaches. The Scriptures are the word of God. and they contain words of life. Read them and meditate on them faithfully and you will grow. God's word says:
"From the holy Scriptures you can learn the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and can profitably be used for teaching, for refuting error, for guiding people's lives and teaching them to be holy." (2 Tim 3:15-17)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day six reflection
Read Scripture: Philippians 3: 12-16
The Christian life is not an individualistic life. By himself, a Christian is incomplete. The gift of the Spirit led the first Christians to join together and to form a community in which they helped one another to grow. Be faithful to the Church and to meeting with the Christians who have helped you find new life in the Spirit. Imitate the Christians on the day of Pentecost.
"That very day about three thousand were added to their number. These remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers. The faithful all lived together and owned everything in common. They shared their food gladly and generously; they praised God and were looked up to by everyone. Day by day the Lord added to their community those destined to be saved." (Acts 2:41-47)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day seven reflection:
Read Scripture: Philippians 3: 17-21
If you love other people, you will want to share with them the best thing you have - the Lord. Share what you have found with wisdom, following the leading of the Spirit. God's word says:
"Be tactful with those who are not Christians and be sure that you make the best use of your time with them. Talk to them agreeably and with a flavour of wit, and try to fit your answers to the needs of each one."
(Col 4:5-6)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
Week seven:
day one reflection:
The Holy Spirit is at work in you. He wants to change you, to give you a better life, to make you holier. You can rely on him and his work in your life. Jesus did not leave you on your own to work things out. God's word promises:
"God is at work in you for his own loving purposes, and he puts both the will and action into you."
(Phil 2:13)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day two reflection
Read Scripture: John 20: 11-18
Never let this truth dim in your mind: there is nothing as worthwhile as knowing Christ and belonging to him. Your greatest treasure is the life you have in Christ. Give up everything to keep that life and grow in it. God's word says:
"I believe nothing can happen that will outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For him I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him. (Phil 3:8-9)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day three reflection:
Read Scripture: John 20: 19-23
Sometimes you will run into trials. Friends will misunderstand you, your family may try to make you give up, you will experience doubts. fears, confusion. But all these things can be means of growth and change for the better if you go through them in faith. God's word promises:
"My brothers, you will always have your trials, but when they come treat them as a happy privilege; you understand that your faith is only put to the test to make you patient, but patience too is to have its practical results so that you will become fully developed, complete, with nothing missing." (James 1:2-4)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day four reflection
Read Scripture: John 20: 24-31
God is with you. Never forget that. He loves you and is with you and will never desert you. No matter what trial you have to face, the LORD WHO LOVES YOU IS WITH YOU. God's word promises:
"The trials that you have had to bear are no more than people normally have.You can trust God not to let you be tried beyond your strength, and with any trial he will give you a way out of it and the
strength to bear it." (1 Cor 10:13)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day five reflection:
Read Scripture: Romans 8: 14-18
If you are faithful to God and love him, everything will work out to your good. There is nothing that will happen to you that will not be a source of deeper and better life to you. The Lord brings good out of evil. His word promises:
"We know that by turning everything to their good God co-operates with all those who love him, with all those he has called according to his purpose." (Rom 8:28)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day six reflection
Read Scripture: Romans 12: 1-8
You cannot be fully united to Christ without being united to the body of Christ. If you love Christ, love his body, love those who belong to him. If you want to belong to Christ, join yourself to his body, stay close to other Christians. God's word says:
"Just as each of our bodies has several parts and each part has a separate function, so all of us, in union with Christ, form one body, and as parts of it we belong to each other," (Rom 12:4-5)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.
day seven reflection:
Read Scripture: Romans 12: 9-18
Jesus will work in your life through the Church and through other Christians. He wants you to take a care for the life of the Christian community and for helping other Christians. Be faithful to the meetings of the Christians who have helped you find new life in the Spirit. God's word says:
"Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works. Do not stray away from the meetings of the community, as some do, but encourage each other to go." (Heb 10:24-25)
Reflect on these words. Now ask God to reveal the meaning of these words for you.