Week 36 Day 4
I. Prayer to enter the Lord’s presence:
Be still for a moment. “Lord, I give the day that is now past to you. It is yours. I give the day that is to come to you; help me to see where you are working and to join you there. Speak to me during these moments. I commit them and myself to you.”
II. Prayer of Confession:
“Lord, you are faithful to forgive me and cleanse me of my sin when I confess it to you. I confess my sin(s) of ______________. Thank you for forgiveness.” (1 John 1:9)
III. Prayer of Thanksgiving:
Choose to be thankful, speak out loud of what God has done.
“Thank you, Father, for _________________. Fill my heart and my mouth with gratitude throughout this day.”
IV. Scripture Reflection
Read
Rom. 14:9-17 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written:
“ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’”
So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
Reflect
Paul directs us to use our freedom to serve one another not to “destroy” others. The mature believer understood that Christians are free to eat any food and celebrate or not celebrate any day. The less mature believer struggled to understand the difference between the boundaries of God that leads to freedom and the freedom from certain boundaries that had taken people’s freedom through legalism. As the less mature believer works through these issues the mature believer is to defer to them. The mature believer is “free” to not use their freedom because ultimately they are called to love others. Love for others is the ultimate expression of freedom.
Respond
Is there an area where you have turned a freedom into a burden? For instance the principle of “Sabbath” in Scripture is where we are to set aside time in our lives to rest, to recreate, and to worship. We are “free” to cease from our efforts and work and to learn to rest in Christ. This means different things for different people. For some rest means lots of physical activity, for others it means virtually no physical activity. All of God’s limits are designed for our freedom. This includes giving, living in community, regular worship, moral purity, etc. Engage your mind and think deeply on an area of God’s limits that you struggle to see as his invitation to freedom.
V. Prayer for others:
Pray specifically for the concerns of your life and the lives of others.
VI. Prayer of commitment:
“Lord God, I commit to love you with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength and with all my mind and to love my neighbor as myself. Empower me today to love you and others with everything that I am.” (Luke 10:27)
This Month’s Scripture Memory:
Colossians 3:12-14
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.