Discussion or reflection on The Holy One and The Lord of Lords

 Reflection on The Holy One of God

Each time we confess our sins and yield an area of our lives to Jesus’ control, we grow a little more in His holy likeness. Today, take a few moments to confess the sins that have accumulated in your soul; then thank Jesus for being faithful to forgive you your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Rejoice in the holiness Jesus confers upon you, and walk in His holiness today.

Discussion/reflection on The Lord of Lords

Consider what parts of your life you’ve been withholding from Jesus’ lordship. Does He have complete control of your time, finances, schedule, relationships, career, and dreams? Spend some time today renewing your allegiance to your Lord. Bow your knees in worship to Him, and when He instructs you to do something, trust Him and obey immediately.

Holy hands

 Holy Hands

I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.

PSALM 63.4

Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them.

LUKE 24.50

In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God.

1 TIMOTHY 2.8

As children we are taught to fold our hands in prayer. But perhaps that has more to do with keeping our hands out of mischief than helping us approach God. So what do our hands have to do with the way we relate to God?

Throughout Scripture we are called to lift up our hands to God — in motions of asking and receiving, as well as motions of giving and blessing. When we lift our palms to God, that might express openness, invitation, and surrender. When we reach out our hands to God, that might signify asking him for something or depending on him. When we extend our open hands to God, that might symbolise blessing God.

Desperate for a response from God, David said, “I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land” (Psa 143.6, NIV). Our hands can mirror our souls as they stretch out to touch God. David also lovingly called to his faithful God with hands lifted up, “I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer” (Psa 63.4). Lifted hands reflect a connected heart.

Lifting hands is common in some church traditions and rare in others. But the lifting of hands isn’t really about what kind of church you go to. And lifting up our hands to God should never become a meaningless habit or a spiritual show. If we’re only lifting our hands in his direction to impress those around us, what an insult that would be to God! When our thoughts are about ourselves and our hearts feel cold toward God, we lift up our hands to him because of what we know about him. And that simple gesture can draw our hearts toward him.

Trampling on the Son of God

 Trampling on the Son of God

If we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. . . . Think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant as if it were common and unholy.

HEBREWS 10.26, 29

Should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

ROMANS 6.1-2

Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.

1 JOHN 3.6

When you walk along a pavement and you look down and spot a pound coin, you pick it up because you see it as something of value. But when you see a discarded gum wrapper or a used ticket stub, you don’t pick it up, you just walk over it or step on it, because it is worthless to you.

Sometimes we keep chasing after something we know is sin, even after we’ve come alive to God and his goodness. When we do this, it’s as if we see Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross and then just walk right over it, trampling it under our feet, because we see it as worthless. It’s as if we say, “I know it’s sin, but I am going to do it anyway.” And in doing so, we’re rejecting the sacrifice of Christ, saying, “I don’t need you or your holiness. I want to live my way, not your way.”

Once we become followers of Christ, we become more serious about how we deal with sin. We can’t fool ourselves into thinking we can just keep walking toward sin after knowing and experiencing the truth. If we do, it’s like we’re trampling the Son of God.

As a believer you will sin, but if you find that you keep on choosing to sin without feeling sad about it, then you need to question if you have really placed your faith in Christ. But when you feel sad about your sin, you can celebrate that as confirmation that you want Jesus more than you want to go your own way.

Discussion and reflection on The Truth and The Lion of Judah

 Discussion/reflection on The Truth 

What lies about God, yourself, relationships, emotions, and life are you battling today? Write them on an index card, and take a few moments to find truth in Scripture on that topic (you can use a concordance online or at the back of your Bible). Write those verses on the back of the index card and then spend time with the Truth. Ask Him to transform the way you view that area of your life so that you can walk in the freedom of the truth.

Discussion/reflection on The Lion of Judah

Have you adopted our culture’s view of Jesus as “safe”? Today, meditate on His power and glory as the Lion of Judah. Ask Him to awaken you to the reality of His grandeur and respond in humble worship.

Discussion and reflections on Christ and The Word of God

 

Discussion/reflection on Christ 

Have you tried to fit Jesus into your idea of who He should be or how He should act? Take time this season to read through the Gospels. Reacquaint yourself with Jesus. Marvel at His miracles. Chuckle at His witty responses to the Pharisees’ snide remarks. Weep as His people reject Him and He walks toward Golgotha. Rejoice as the stone is rolled away and the tomb is found empty. Go beyond surface familiarity with the stories and engage with the Anointed One as He is revealed in the pages of Scripture.

Reflection on The Word of God

When we think of “spending time in the Word,” we often think of merely reading the Bible. And while studying Scripture is important, it should always drive us to a deeper relationship with Jesus. Today, let your time in the Word drive you to spend time with the Word. Talk to Him. Invite Him to speak into your life right now. And then listen to the Word.

Pour on the power

 Pour On the Power

I will pour out my Spirit upon the people of Israel. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!

EZEKIEL 39.29

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere —in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

ACTS 1.8

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvellous glory and excellence.

2 PETER 1.3

Picture a child walking along holding his father’s hand. He is happy and secure in his father’s love, but there is no powerful urge to talk about it. But then suddenly the father reaches down and sweeps the child into his arms, hugging and kissing him and telling him how much he loves him. Then he puts the child down, and they continue on their walk. The child believed his father loved him before, but now he can hardly contain himself — he wants to shout with joy over being so loved by his father.

This is a picture of what it’s like when the Holy Spirit “comes upon” a person with power, as Jesus promised would happen to the disciples after he ascended and went to heaven. Before, they had a real but quiet knowledge of Jesus, but soon it would burst into an energetic outpouring of affection toward God — an overflowing joy coming from a complete confidence in him. Because the Holy Spirit filled their hearts and minds with a fresh passion for God, they couldn’t resist praising him out loud and talking about him to anyone who would listen. This is what Jesus meant when he said they would receive power and be his witnesses.

Failed and failed again

 Failed and Failed Again

Suddenly, the Lord’s words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly.

LUKE 22.61-62

At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” . . . Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic, . . . jumped into the water, and headed to shore.

JOHN 21.4-5, 7

There aren’t many things worse than facing up to failure — a failed test, a failed business, or a failed relationship. Sometimes when we fail, we want to hide. We’d just rather not face the truth and feel the brunt of our disappointment.

Peter had failed Jesus, and failed again. He failed Jesus by denying that he knew him — even while Jesus was being beaten. Then after Jesus rose from the dead and instructed the disciples to wait in Galilee, Peter failed again. He and the disciples went to Galilee for a while. But then they got tired of waiting and went back to what they did before following Jesus — they went fishing.

When Peter heard Jesus calling to him from the shore, we might expect that Peter would hide, embarrassed by failure heaped on failure. That is what a lot of us try to do when we’ve let God down. We hide. We keep our distance. But Peter showed us what to do when we’ve failed God. He dove into the water in a rush to get back to Jesus. He didn’t let his shame hold him back. And Jesus was there waiting for him, not with harsh words of criticism but with a comforting breakfast.

God is not looking for people who never fail. But he welcomes people who hurry to be restored when they fail — people who won’t let anything get in the way of having their relationship with him restored.