Opening Prayer: Lord God, forgive us for wanting to just
nibble on the edges of faith rather than committing ourselves to the whole
thing. You gave your all for us and you
require all of us in return. Help us to
feed fully on you, and to stop feeding at the table of this world any
longer. Amen.
Scripture: John 6:53-57
Journal: Why do you think this teaching was so hard to
accept? What is God really asking of
us? What is he asking of you this
day? Are you willing to go there?
Reflection:
We, who have heard the call of our God to a life of
entire consecration and perfect trust, must do differently from all this. We must come out from the world and be
separate, and must not be conformed to it in our characters or in our
lives. We must set our affections on
heavenly things and not on earthly ones, and must seek first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness, surrendering everything that would interfere with
this. We must walk through the world as
Christ walked. We must have the mind
that was in Him. As pilgrims and
strangers, we must abstain from lusts of the flesh that war against the
soul. As good soldiers of Jesus Christ,
we must disentangle ourselves from the affairs of this life as far as possible,
that we may please Him who hath chosen us to be soldiers. We must abstain from all appearance of
evil. We must be kind to one another,
tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ’s sake, hath forgiven
us. We must not resent injuries or
unkindness, but must return good for evil, and turn the other cheek to the hand
that smites us. We must take always the
lowest place among fellow-men; and seek not our own honor, but the honor of
others. We must be gentle and meek and
yielding, not standing up for our own rights but for the rights of others. We must do all that we do for the glory of
God. And, to sum it all up, since He who
hath called us is holy, so must we be holy in all manner of conversation;
because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” (The Christian’s Secret of
a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith)
Prayer
Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to be more committed to
your kingdom and your glory than I am to my own. Give me the strength and the courage to
choose your hard and demanding way, rather than a life of ease and
comfort. Help me to feed on you, rather
than feeding on the things this world has to offer. Amen.
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