Week 2 - Love Others - Day 9 - Thursday

Written by Debbie Phares
I am always amazed at how different gifts are expressed in my Life Group. Each person brings something completely unique to the table. As we build relationships with one another these gifts automatically begin to emerge. One member of our group is a master encourager, another always makes sure that each person is included, another keeps us organized and on track, one constantly serves through donating time and still another gives wise counsel and advice. This process seems to be totally organic. As we engage with each other and learn about needs, hopes and opportunities, each member naturally lifts up and offers what she/he can. As our group has grown, we have considered splitting and becoming two groups. We can barely stand to entertain this option. Each of us hates the idea of missing out on the presence of any one person in our group, much less an entire half of the group! Our community would seem so incomplete.

God has created each of us with special and necessary gifts. If you are looking around beating yourself up because you don’t act, think, or have gifts like other people you admire, you are missing the point. Your value does not come from conforming to others, it comes from the uniqueness that God has given you. No one can serve the body exactly in the same way that you can. If you are not involved in some way, shape or form, you are denying the body of certain benefits that only you can bring. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t times where we need to rest—the goal is not a constant state of flurry. However, the gifts that are God-given are so deeply a part of who we are, we will usually find that our efforts are life-giving and energizing rather than draining. The great thing about the gifts of people in my Life Group is that, most of the time, they don’t even realize that they are giving anything. They are just being themselves, in genuine relationship with others, and God is using that to bless the people around them. Step into genuine relationship with others in the body of Christ and see what happens! You may be amazed to find out what God will do through you.

Scripture:
• Read 1 Corinthians 12:14-20

Reflection:
• Have you ever found that you did something that touched someone else’s life and you didn’t even know about it until after the fact? What are the things that you naturally find yourself doing that other people tend to appreciate about you? What things give you energy or joy?

Practice:
• Have a conversation with your Life Group or a friend or two. Share what unique qualities you see in the other person. What does this person bring to your life / Life Group that no one else does in the same way? How do you see God using that uniqueness?

Week 2 - Love Others - Day 8 - Wednesday

Written by Debbie Phares
As we watch TV, we see commercials flash across the screen that encourage us to “be an individual.” Stores have signs that implore you to “express yourself.” Magazines give you tips on how to find your “personal style.” Many options are offered to us to create our individuality: clothes, hair color, make-up, music, the list goes on. In our culture we elevate the idea of individuality to the point where we think that it is an end in and of itself. The more unique and different you are, the better. Individuality is the goal.

In the body of Christ, individuality is a means to an end. Individuality, in the form of different gifts and abilities, is the tool that God gives us to serve each other, work together and accomplish His purposes. Uniqueness is not something to be gained or worked towards. It is inherent in each person, a gift of God’s Spirit. You are already an individual, completely unique. In addition, when you became a follower of Jesus, His Spirit blessed you with special gifts. The task is not to make yourself into an individual, but to discover what kind of an individual God has already made you to be—and celebrate that for God’s purposes.

In the bible, Paul lists gifts like leadership, service, administration, discernment, tongues, faith and healing. I believe that God’s Spirit still gives all of these gifts and that they are operating in the church today. However, I don’t think that this list is comprehensive. I’ve seen other kinds of gifts at work within the church body. When I look around our church, I see gifts of honesty, humor, adventure, inclusion, and many more. These are unique abilities that different people have that build up our church body and, without which, we would not be the same.

When the members of the body of Christ know and use their gifts, the result is a unity that is born out of interdependence. Unity does not mean that we all have the same point of view, but that we value the importance of each other. Same Spirit, same purpose, different gifts—we need each other.

Scripture:
• Read 1 Corinthians 12:4-12

Reflection:
• What gifts do you see at work in the community at SCC? If you were to name what gifts you think you have, what would they be?

Practice:
• Make a list of 5 people in whom you see God’s Spirit actively moving through the use of their unique gifts. Find some way to recognize what God is doing through them—make some phone calls, write some notes, or just give them a hug and a compliment on Sunday.

Week 2 - Love Others - Day 7 - Tuesday

Written by Debbie Phares
As the head of a non-profit organization, one of the most critical decisions that I make is to hire the right person for the job. The team that I create is entrusted with our vision, our name, our key relationships and literally enters into the sacred space of people’s homes and churches to represent us. It is completely impossible for me to be with my staff all or even half of the time. All of this requires that I hire my staff very carefully. I choose people that I believe in, whose potential excites me and that I trust.

The bible says that we are the “body” of Christ. We are his hands, feet, legs, eyes and arms to fulfill his mission of bringing God’s kingdom into our world. At SCC we recognize that mission as: restore, love and serve. We are the expression of Jesus in this world. Not just through you as an individual, but through us-collectively. Every time that you or someone in the Church steps up to the plate and gives, serves, challenges, or advocates for something good, Christ is acting through us.

Jesus doesn’t need to work through us, he chooses to. Just as I believe in and trust my staff, I believe that God trusts and believes in us. Within the church, this means that we experience Jesus’ presence through each other. Outside of the church, it means that the world experiences Jesus’ presence through us. To abide in Christ, in part, means to abide in the church. We can’t fully abide in Christ unless we are abiding in the church. We are going to spend the next week exploring what it means to abide in Christ through being his body.

Scripture:
• Read 1 Corinthians 12:27 and 12-13

Reflection:
• How does it make you feel to know that God believes and trusts in you? How have you experienced Jesus through the community at Sojourners? What are the ways that people can experience Jesus through our community? What are the ways that we could do better?

Practice:
• Find at least one person at Sojourners Community Church with whom you could share your idea of what Jesus’ vision for our community would be. What ideas do you have about how we could reach that vision?

Week 2 - Day 6 - Love Others

I’ve heard a friend and pastor, Todd Hunter, often say, “Spiritual Formation is for the sake of the world.” Having a relationship and abiding in Jesus in not just a private act. It is the way we share the life of God with others. We are meant to live in community because that is how God created us and because that is how God lives in His Trinitarian life.

“Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Scripture:
- Read and meditate on 1 Corinthians 13:1-7.

Reflection:
- After reading 1 Corinthians 13:1-7, Is it possible to have these qualities or actions without love? Have you ever exhibited some of these qualities without love?

Practice:
- Look at 1 Corinthians 13:1-7. Since God is love, replace the word love and it with God. Which of these qualities do you appreciate most in God? How can you begin to live out this quality in your life? Consider all the struggles and fears that accompany this quality for you. Consider also how, if this quality becomes a part of you, it will affect those around you.

Week 1-Abiding - Day 5 - Friday

People in a hurry never have time for recovery. Their minds have little time to meditate and pray so that problems can be put in perspective. In short, people in our age are showing signs of physiological disinigration because we are living at a pace that is too fast for our bodies.
Dr. Archibald Hart

How often have you given time to pray or spend time with God in solitude and fallen asleep? Have you felt guilty? Could you be falling asleep because God is giving you the gift of rest? As humans we have limits - we can’t say yes to everything. God created us in His image and He is a God who works and rests. It’s important to view rest as a spiritual act and not just an act of laziness.

Scripture:
• Psalm 62:1, 116:7, and Deuteronomy 33:12

Reflection
• What exhausts you or keeps you working past your limits? What is it like for you to set aside time for yourself, whether it is rest or play? How regular is that time?

Practice:
• Intentionally place yourself in the presence of God, then do something you delight in: go for a walk, take a nap, talk to a friend, have a cup of coffee, play a game. Enjoy yourself in God. Receive the gift of rest. Tell God what happens in you as you try to rest.

Week 1-Abiding - Day 4 - Thursday

“Prayer is turning towards God, if you can’t pray just turn towards God.”
Thomas Merton

“We look upon prayer simply as a means of getting things for ourselves, but the Biblical purpose of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.”
Oswald Chambers

Sometimes we tend to mystify the practice of prayer, as if it is some magical practice that, if done correctly, will allow a divine being to grant all of our requests. That is not what prayer is. Prayer is simply having a relationship with God. There are many ways to pray but only one God, and God never intended for it to be difficult to talk to Him.

Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on John 17:22,23,26.

Reflection:
• What makes it difficult for you to concentrate in prayer?
• How do you tend to react to distractions in prayer?
• What do distractions in prayer reveal about your core identity and concerns?

Practice:
• The ancient Jews believed that prayer began with an intentional awareness of God’s presence, “know before whom you are standing” (Berakhot 28b). Find a quiet place either at a park or in your home. Imagine God is sitting with you either in a chair or on a bench, give him a physical space to be. Just begin to have a conversation sharing all your hopes, frustrations, pain, and joy. What does God want to tell you? Ask Him questions and then just listen.

Week 1-Abiding - Day 3 - Wednesday

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour and that one is what we are doing. A schedule defends us from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time. – Annie Dillard

Praying at fixed-times during the day can enable you to keep company with Jesus through out the day. It allows you to integrate your identity in Christ with your everyday tasks and work. Praying at fixed-times also allows you to detach from your own compulsions and remind you that, ultimately, your work and your day are completely tied to God. St. Benedict said, “To pray is to work, to work is to pray.”

Scripture:
• Take some time to look at these passages to see how praying at fixed-times has been a part of the rhythm of God’s people. Daniel 6:10; Psalm 119:164; Acts 3:1

Reflection:
• How do you remind yourself throughout the day that there is more to life than work, tasks, and transactions?
• How do you feel about memorized prayers or using prayers of others? What makes prayer authentic?

Practice:
• There are many ways to pray at fixed-times. If you already have one time of day at which you pray, consider choosing a second time and then maybe a third time. You can use this time to pray spontaneously, with scripture, or by using prayers of others (such as liturgy or the Daily Offices/ Hours). Praying with the Offices or the Hours you could use the resources from: www.northumbiracommunity.org/praytheoffice or the books The Celtic Daily Prayer: Prayers and Readings from the Northumbia Community or The Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle. You may find that even just using the Psalms is helpful.

Week 1-Abiding - Day 2 - Tuesday

“Christians feed on Scripture. Holy Scripture nurtures the holy community as food nurtures the human body. Christians don’t simply learn or study or use Scripture; we assimilate it, take it into our lives in such a way that it gets metabolized into acts of love, cups of cold water, missions into all the world, healing and evangelism and justice in Jesus’ name, hands raised in adoration of the Father, feet washed in the company with the Son.”
-Eugene Peterson (Eat this Book)

One way in which we abide in Christ, is to meditate on Scripture. Meditation is a method of reading the Bible in a devotional way (as opposed to literal, moral, or allegorical) believing that, because it is God’s inspired Word, it’s a living and active text that has something to say to each individual believer. Meditation assumes that, by entering deeply into the text of God’s holy Word, God will be made known to us, speak to us, and shape our lives. It is reading the Bible with no agenda, no presuppositions.

Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating on 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and Psalm 119:97-104.

Reflection:
• What is your gut reaction to the word meditate?
• Do you tend to rush through things and, if so, what effect do you think that might have on your ability to meditate on Scripture?

Practice:
• There are many ways to meditate on scripture. One way is to just begin to memorize verses and even passages. You may find it helpful to memorize John 15:1-8 over the next 6 weeks. As you memorize it, recite the passage often. Listen for specific words or phrases and ask God to reveal Himself through Scripture. This allows you to begin digesting and living out the words you read and hear.

Week 1-Abiding - Day 1-Monday

As followers of Christ we are to be imitators; imitating God and the life He lived through His son, Jesus. Developing a healthy rhythm of Abiding, Loving, and Serving is essential in the life of a disciple (a student of Christ).

God introduced a healthy rhythm when He first created Adam and Eve. On our first full day as humans we got to hang out with God the whole day. This models the idea that we ought to work from rest, rather than rest from work. Jesus also modeled this same principle in Mark 1:12-13. Before Jesus began His ministry, he spent 40 days with His Father and no one else. We should never expect to live this abundant life if we don’t follow the same path Christ did.

Scripture:
• Spend some time slowly reading and meditating Mark 1:12-13 and John 15:1-8.

Reflection:
• When you think about “wasting time with God,” what fears do you have? Do you tend to work from rest or rest from work?
• What happens to you when you go without regular rhythms that allow you to rest in God?

Practice:
• You have probably already spent 5-10 minutes with God just by starting this first day of the devotional book, but plan on taking at least another 5 minutes and just sit silently with God. Start by reading John 15:4: “Abide in Me. And I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” If you find that you continue to be distracted just recite the verse again and return to resting in God. Set a timer so you do not worry about time.