"Meditation – 60 Days of Prayer" for Sunday, 29 May 2016 from The Upper Room in Nashville, Tennessee, United States
SUNDAY, MAY 29
READ LUKE 18:26-27
LUKE 18:26 Those who heard this asked, “Then who can be saved?” 27 He said, “What is impossible humanly is possible with God.”
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The church is not perfect. Sometimes we wish it were. Sometimes we even think it is. Moments of Christ in action through the church move us to joyous thanksgiving. Other moments painfully remind us that the church is made up of persons like ourselves. We are the body of Christ, the church. And we carry all of who we are into the church. So it should not surprise us that the body of Christ is broken and fractured. The conflicts, halting discipleship, fragile faith, timid witness, and qualified commitment are a natural outgrowth of who we are as individual Christians.
While we may look at the church in its various expressions with joy at times and dismay at others, we must remember that new life is possible. Transformation can begin today. Resurrection power is available to us and can be invested in the church this very moment. With God’s help we can initiate change this very day!
This is true because our first line of defense against further brokenness lies within each of us. My efforts to stop the brokenness and to take the first step to reform and transform the church must begin with me. My prayer for a holy church marked by righteousness and love can be answered only as I yield my life to the way of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. The transformation begins with me. What a liberating thought! I am not powerless and without options. With God’s help I can surrender my life to the transforming, life-giving power of the Holy Spirit and in that very moment begin the journey toward the wholeness and faithfulness I want to see in the church.
O God, I give my brokenness to you; reform and transform me for your purposes. Amen.[Rueben P. Job (1928–2015), From A Guide to Spiritual Discernment]
Our mailing address is:
The Upper Room Strategic Initiatives
PO Box 340007
READ LUKE 18:26-27
LUKE 18:26 Those who heard this asked, “Then who can be saved?” 27 He said, “What is impossible humanly is possible with God.”
-------
The church is not perfect. Sometimes we wish it were. Sometimes we even think it is. Moments of Christ in action through the church move us to joyous thanksgiving. Other moments painfully remind us that the church is made up of persons like ourselves. We are the body of Christ, the church. And we carry all of who we are into the church. So it should not surprise us that the body of Christ is broken and fractured. The conflicts, halting discipleship, fragile faith, timid witness, and qualified commitment are a natural outgrowth of who we are as individual Christians.
While we may look at the church in its various expressions with joy at times and dismay at others, we must remember that new life is possible. Transformation can begin today. Resurrection power is available to us and can be invested in the church this very moment. With God’s help we can initiate change this very day!
This is true because our first line of defense against further brokenness lies within each of us. My efforts to stop the brokenness and to take the first step to reform and transform the church must begin with me. My prayer for a holy church marked by righteousness and love can be answered only as I yield my life to the way of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. The transformation begins with me. What a liberating thought! I am not powerless and without options. With God’s help I can surrender my life to the transforming, life-giving power of the Holy Spirit and in that very moment begin the journey toward the wholeness and faithfulness I want to see in the church.
O God, I give my brokenness to you; reform and transform me for your purposes. Amen.[Rueben P. Job (1928–2015), From A Guide to Spiritual Discernment]
Our mailing address is:
The Upper Room Strategic Initiatives
PO Box 340007
Nashville, Tennessee 37203, United States
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