BETHEL

REFLECTION

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Everything changes on Palm Sunday. Jesus shifts gears. It’s the final countdown. The last week of earth-life. Every moment counts. Every word carries added weight.

 

In these moments, Jesus is revealing who he is. Confronting individuals and groups and systems. He is defying expectations. Matthew 21:5 NIV says: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

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Jesus, your King, comes to you. He comes gently. He comes as a servant. He comes as a King. He comes with compassion and humility. He comes to transform. He comes boldly. He comes with purpose and authority. He comes to each of us and asks: Am I your Lord?  Who do you say that I am? He drew near to us.

 

How will you draw near to Jesus today? Perhaps it will be in a decision to submit to him in obedience. Perhaps you will give him your worship today. Perhaps you will take the high road in a relational conflict and show compassion and forgiveness instead of spite. 

 

Draw near to Jesus. He has been, and is, drawing near to you.

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SCRIPTURE 

Matthew 21:5

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PRAYER

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Lord, Thank-you for drawing near to me, for showing me who you are. Thank-you for breaking down the walls of my misconceptions and traditions. Thank-you for showing me a different way. I want to be like you, and to follow your lead. Lord, give me the courage to do it.

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Spend a few minutes listening, allowing the Spirit to direct you to things he wants to bring up. Take a moment to write them down and prayerfully consider how you could respond to the things you are reminded of.

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As you meditate on this devotional today, I encourage you to listen to this song:

REFLECTION

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In John 17:18 (MSG), Jesus was praying to His Father and He said this – In the same way you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world. So what is our mission? 

 

Our mission is simply this – sharing the Good News. There’s a word for this and it’s called evangelism. This can sound like a scary word to some people. When it comes to evangelism, both believers and unbelievers have something in common – they’re afraid of it. But evangelism just means sharing the Good News with people who haven’t heard it yet.

 

Our mission … and I pray we’ll accept it … is to simply pass on to others the same Good News that someone passed on to us. Imagine this – what if someone hadn’t cared enough to tell you the good news about Jesus? What would your story look like?

 

So in conclusion, here are two questions … the first is one to reflect on. Will there be anyone in Heaven because of me? The second question is one that calls us to action. Who am I going to tell about Jesus?

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SCRIPTURE 

John 17:18

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PRAYER

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Lord, thank you that someone cared for me enough to share Jesus with me. Thank you for the difference you have made in my life, and for giving me a hope and a future. Thank you that in Jesus, I can live a thriving life here and now. I ask for opportunities to accomplish the mission that you have given me. Help me share the Good News with others … my friends, co – workers, and family members who don’t know you. Give me boldness and courage to be your witness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Spend a few minutes listening, allowing the Spirit to direct you to things he wants to bring up. Take a moment to write them down and prayerfully consider how you could respond to the things you are reminded of.

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As you meditate on this devotional today, I encourage you to listen to the words of this song:

REFLECTION

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Jesus served so well. Becoming human he lived, suffered, was tempted, died and rose again. He gave his life over and over: Feeding the hungry, healing the lame, deaf and blind; delivering the tormented. Jesus served humanity. He brought relief, demonstrated compassion and gave his life. We are called to be like Christ in this. Because he served, we too are called to serve. It is more natural for some of us than for others. For those of us who struggle to serve, we ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what barriers are in our way. Perhaps it is the need to cultivate gratitude or faithfulness, or perhaps it is simply to become available. Paul said that he was able to do ‘all things’ though Christ who strengthened him. He was referring to living in plenty or want. If God can empower Paul to live with both much and little, he can certainly empower you to serve the world he died to save. May it be so.

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SCRIPTURE 

Matthew 20:28

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PRAYER

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Take a moment to read and pray the following prayer penned by St. Francis of Assisi.

 

Lord, Make me an instrument of your peace:

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

Where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console,

To be understood as to understand, 

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive, 

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, 

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

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Spend a few minutes listening, allowing the Spirit to direct you to things he wants to bring up. Take a moment to write them down and prayerfully consider how you could respond to the things you are reminded of.

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As you end this devotional today, listen to the song below:

REFLECTION

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2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT) says, So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord — who is the Spirit — makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

 

In other words, we experience transformation. Our lives are changed when we see and reflect God’s glory. But what does transformation look like in the life of a Christ follower? From this verse, it looks like more of a process than an overnight success story! 

 

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul gave them some instructions that would help them on their journey to transformation. We can apply these thoughts to our lives as well …

 

1. LIVE IN COMMUNITY – we grow better with a coach or mentor … iron sharpens iron

2. LEARN THE TRUTH – because the truth will set us free

3. CLEAN HOUSE – get rid of the sin that distracts

4. RENEW YOUR MIND – we change our lives when we change our thought patterns

5. HAVE FAITH – He can do more than we can ask or imagine

 

As we become more and more like Jesus, our lives begin to reflect His goodness, His love and His grace to others.

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SCRIPTURE 

Ephesians 4:21–24 

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PRAYER

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Lord, thank you for your desire for me to become more and more like You. Help me be patient and help me to trust the process of transformation. Give me the discipline to renew my mind daily and to throw off old attitudes and old ways of thinking. Remind me that you are working behind the scenes on my behalf, even when I don’t see it. Increase my faith to trust that You are working all things for my good. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Spend a few minutes listening, allowing the Spirit to direct you to things he wants to bring up. Take a moment to write them down and prayerfully consider how you could respond to the things you are reminded of.

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As you end this devotional today, listen to this song called Make Me New by Influence Music.

REFLECTION

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Complicated nature of natural adoption, our spiritual adoption is a beautiful and life-giving promotion, becoming a child of the Creator and Saviour of all. In our adoption we are given assurance, inheritance, and we have ultimate belonging into the largest and most wonderful family, called the Church, or the body of Christ.

 
Many of us struggle to rest in the assurance of our acceptance. We doubt Jesus’ love for us, or his power to save. Some of us may struggle to believe that in Christ we have access to what our Father has. And everything is His. Somehow, or perhaps rather, someday, we inherit every good and perfect thing. Because of the death of Jesus we have already inherited some of those things even now. The greatest inheritance we have is belonging to Jesus and his large spiritual family. Perhaps there have been past natural family experiences that have influenced your feelings of belonging. Perhaps getting along in our families brings out the worst in us and shows us where we still need transformation. Scripture is clear that we are adopted. We belong. And God is faithful to continue his work in us!

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SCRIPTURE 

Ephesians 1:3-14

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PRAYER

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It is unfathomable that you, Father of all, have adopted me. You choose me. You accept me. You give me access to you and all you have, and you give me a place. Thank you! Help me to take that space, unapologetically, that you have created for me. Help me to embrace who I am and where I am, even if it’s not quite what I had in mind. Thank you that you are not finished with me yet. 

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Spend a few minutes listening, allowing the Spirit to direct you to things he wants to bring up. Take a moment to write them down and prayerfully consider how you could respond to the things you are reminded of.

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Take a listen to this classic hymn written by Fanny Crosby, done beautifully by CAIN

REFLECTION

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Worship is our response to God’s sacrificial love.

We are called to respond to Jesus sacrificial love. Our response to God is at least in part, to give him our attention, affection and abilities, which can be described as giving him our worship. For some, making room in our lives is a challenge. Whether that is sacrificially removing things that are taking too much space, or it is removing things that are just plain wrong. It can be hard to do. For others, the challenge of worship may be engaging our affections towards God because of past hurts. For others it may be that giving our abilities and resources to God just feels so costly. In spite of this, all of us can grow in worship by attending to one of these areas. And Jesus is certainly worthy of our worship. He does not ask us to do something he was not willing to do. 

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SCRIPTURE 
Whichever area you want to worship God through, read and consider the related scriptures:

Attention: Psalm 105:4-5, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Romans 12:1-2
Affection: Hebrews 13:15, Psalm 63:1-8
Abilities: Colossians 3:23-25, James 2:21-26

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PRAYER

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Lord, as I fast and feel hunger or desire for certain things, I am reminded of what you have given up. In that sacrifice, I see how much you have loved me. I want to respond to your love, to worship you. Teach me to attend to you, show affection for you, and use my abilities for you. I realize it may be hard. I realize it will be a sacrifice. Help me to understand that my sacrificial gift to you is very small in comparison to the gift I have received from you. So, you have given me all I need to be like you. 

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Spend a few minutes listening, allowing the Spirit to direct you to things he wants to bring up. Take a moment to write them down and prayerfully consider how you could respond to the things you are reminded of.

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When you are ready, end your time by singing a favourite song of worship. If you can’t pick a favourite, here’s one you can listen to.

REFLECTION

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For many Christians, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday are pinnacle celebrations in our faith. Traditionally, many Christians have spent the forty days before Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, in reflection and an attitude of repentance. While, repentance and reflection should be part of our spiritual practice all year, and even daily, there is merit to observing a time of special gratitude for the great sacrifice Jesus made. 

 

Over the next several weeks we want to focus on two things. First, we want to understand what Jesus has done for us. We want to gain a fuller grasp of his sacrifice and his gift. Second, we want to respond appropriately to his invitation of salvation, and relationship. 

 

This first week, we remember that it is for the condition of sin, and our personal immoral behaviours that Jesus gave his life to rescue us from. We reflect on the ways we have sinned against God. Sin always negatively affects us because it prevents us from loving well. We are not able to love God, love others, or even ourselves if there is sin that we are not dealing with. It separates us from God and eachother. If we are blind to our sin, we are also blind to the necessity and the greatness of his gift. So that we do not diminish his gifts to us, let us search our lives: our hearts, minds, bodies, will and motives. Let’s take time to consider, with the help of the Spirit, whether we are aligned with Him.

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SCRIPTURE | Psalm 139: 1-24; Romans 8: 1-4.

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PRAYER

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Lord, I ask you help me to see. Open my eyes. Open my heart. Help me to see the way you see. I am made in your image, called to reflect your glory. Psalm 139: 23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

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Spend a few minutes listening, allowing the Spirit to direct you to things he wants to bring up. Take a moment to write them down and prayerfully consider how you could respond to the things you are reminded of. Perhaps you need to forgive someone or acknowledge some personal weakness to Him, reminding yourself of His compassion for you and strength available to you.

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When you are ready, end your time by singing a favourite song of worship. If you can’t pick a favourite, here’s one you can listen to.