grave clothes

Opening Prayer: Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you brought me from death to life.  Free me now from the things that bind and hinder me from the life and the love you desire me to know and experience.

Read: John 11:43-44

Reflect:

“Lazarus come out!”

The dead man came out,

His hands and head

Wrapped with strips of linen,

And a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them,

“Take off the grave clothes

And let him go.”

It reads like a poem.  Because we know, all too well, exactly what he means.  He’s talking to us too.  The things that bind us and keep us from the life he desires for us must be removed and left behind.  Yes, he has raised us from death to life and brought us out of the tomb, which is glorious indeed, but still there is work to be done in order for us to live fully and freely.  Walking with God in newness of life means leaving the grave clothes behind.

Journal: What still binds you?  What grave clothes do you need to leave behind in order to live fully and freely in the newness of life Christ is offering you?

Pray: Ask God to show you how you still need to be unbound, so that you can live fully and freely in him.  Listen to what he says.

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, free me from anything and everything that binds me and keeps me from the life and the love you want me to experience.

thorns

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to understand that weak is strong in your kingdom.  My weaknesses are meant to help reveal your strength.  Forgive me when I try to hide them rather than embrace them.  They are actually invitations to a deeper life with you.

Read: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Reflect:

the deeper the need

the bigger the grace

the deeper the weakness

the greater his power

the deeper the desperation

the more vibrant his life in you

the deeper the thorns cut

the sweeter the revelations become

 

i guess the thorns

ain’t so bad after all

Journal: How is Jesus inviting you to discover his grace in your weaknesses?  Be specific.  What is your thorn these days?  How is God using it to make you more dependent on him?

Pray: Ask God to help you embrace your weaknesses so that you might reveal his power.  They are opportunities, not obstacles.

Closing Prayer: Forgive me, Lord Jesus, when I try to hide my weaknesses so that people will think better of me.  Because my weaknesses were meant to help display your power.  When I refuse to be vulnerable and embrace my weaknesses, I make life about me rather than about you.

last

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, I get it backwards so often; please forgive me.  Forgive me when I make this life about me, rather than about you.  Forgive me when I seek praise, acclaim, and admiration more than I seek you.  Forgive me when I try to climb up, rather than following you on your downward way.  Help me, O Lord, to always have in mind the things of God, rather than the things of men.  Have mercy on me. 

Read: Matthew 20:1-16

Reflect: When we start to think we are more deserving of the attention, affection, recognition, or renumeration that others are getting, we need to pay careful attention.  Because we are falling into the trap of comparison, which never turns out well in terms of the kingdom.

On the one hand, we see people we don’t think we’re as good as, which makes us incredibly insecure.  And on the other hand, we see people that we think we’re better than (sadly) but who are getting more recognition, affection, or renumeration than we are, which makes us frustrated, envious, and jealous.  It’s a no-win game.

So, Jesus comes along and tells a story to show us what kingdom living is really all about.  And the point of the story is this: In the kingdom of God the first are last and the last are first.  Walking with God is not about jockeying and posturing, but about going to the back of the line.  It’s about lifting others above ourselves.  It’s about celebrating others, not competing or comparing.  At the back of the line is where we will find Jesus.

Journal: Where do you find yourself in this story?  What does God want to say to you about that?

Pray: Ask Jesus what the last shall be first needs to look like in your life.  Ask him to be specific.

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to know the beauty and the joy of making myself last, less, and least.