Matthew 7 series: the Little Gate and Narrow Path
(Devotion by Graeme Harrison)
Prayer: Bearers of reconciliation
Lord Christ,
at times we are like strangers on this earth,
disconcerted by all the violence and harsh oppositions.
Like a gentle breeze,
you breathe upon us the Spirit of peace.
Transfigure the deserts of our doubts
and so prepare us to be bearers of reconciliation
wherever you place us,
that the hope of peace may arise in our world. Amen.
Brother Roger of Taizé, 1915-2005
(Sourced from A Treasury of Prayers in Uniting in Worship, copyright 1988 Uniting Church in Australia)
Read:
Matthew 7:13-14. Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
(Matthew 7:13-14 NIV)
Thought for the Day:
At first glance, this seems to contradict Jesus generous grace to all, but that is not what he is saying. He is talking about the likelihood of people choosing the less challenging path over the more challenging path. Although grace is offered to all it comes with a challenge; the challenge to change your ways, live the way of Christ and be transformed. It requires discipline but we are given the Spirit. It requires energy and focus but we are given the power of God. It requires you to deny self, take up the cross and follow Jesus but we follow him into intimacy with God and love for a broken world.
It is no mistake that this teaching comes at the conclusion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount which is a description of the life of disciples. This defines what is the small gate and narrow path that leads to life. It is not a vague metaphor but has several chapters of teaching backing it up.
The path to life is God’s grace to us not because God likes to give us random challenges but because this is what it takes to live, really live. If you are on this path keep walking and don’t stop.
If you are not on this path yet, there is a little gate that is wide open just for you.
Hypocrisy
(Devotion by Graeme Harrison)
Prayer: A prayer for unity
O God, Master of all, and loving God,
unworthy though we are,
make us worthy at this hour
that, cleansed of all deceit and hypocrisy,
we may be united with one another
in the bond of peace and love,
being established in the sanctification of your divine knowledge
through your only-begotten Son
with whom you are blessed,
together with you all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit,
now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer from the liturgy of St James
(Sourced from A Treasury of Prayers in Uniting in Worship, copyright 1988 Uniting Church in Australia)
Read:
Matthew 7:1-2. Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
(Matthew 7:3-5 NIV)
Thought for the Day:
How is it that the church is so strongly associated with hypocrisy when Jesus so strongly warns us against it? He even tells us how to hip it in the bud so that it doesn’t take hold of you; honest self-examination. But maybe there lies our problem. We have ignored Jesus wisdom at our own peril. It is precisely taking time for reflection and self-reflection in the presence of God that we ditch in our over busy lives.
Even when we do devotions such as this, the time pressure often limits us to merely reading the devotion and not reflecting on what this means for my life. Without this we become the father who smacks his child for hitting his brother or the mother who yells aggressively at her children for fighting. We become the person who tells other about the gossip at work or the miserable uptight Christian who tells others that Jesus brings abundant life.
Honest self-examination (plank removal) is a major tool in the life of a disciple that helps us become more like Jesus. And it stops us being who hurt others while being totally unaware of it; a scary thought.
Have you go time for honest self-examination? Can you afford not to? Do it now.
Judge?
(Devotion by Graeme Harrison)
Prayer: Lenten Prayer
O Lord and Master of my life,
take from me
the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power and idle talk.
But give rather
the spirit of chastity, humility, patience,
and love to your servant.
Yes, O Lord and King, grant to me to see my own sins,
and not to judge my sisters and brothers,
for you are blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.
The Lenten prayer of St Ephraim the Syrian,
c. 306-373
(Sourced from A Treasury of Prayers in Uniting in Worship, copyright 1988 Uniting Church in Australia)
Read:
Matthew 7:1-2. Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
1“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
(Matthew 7:1-2 NIV)
Thought for the Day:
What a wonderful thing. I no longer need worry about God condemning my actions. All I need do is stop judging other people. Easy, right? Ummmm…
What makes it so hard to strop condemning people for their action? Even people in far away countries who I have never met can be the subject of my scorn. But when I concentrate hard I can see how these people I judge are usually to be pitied because their life is so filled with hate and their hearts do not experience the wonder of God’s grace.
It is not judging that an action is right or wrong that Jesus is worried about. It is what you do next weith this information. Whether it makes you act out of love to bring change or whether it makes you act of self-righteous rage to condemn and wish ill upon that person. Discernment is literally a gift of the Spirit but condemnation and hatred is a gift of our sinful nature.
I believe these few words of Jesus are meant to short circuit endless negative spirals of revenge and self justification. There is a lot riding on these few words. Will you give up all judging and condemning of others for the sake of a better world?
River of the Spirit
(Devotion by Graeme Harrison)
Prayer: Lyrics of “THE RIVER IS HERE”
ANDY PARK
1.Down the mountain
the river flows
And it brings refreshing
Wherever it goes,
Through the valleys
and over the fields,
The river is rushing
And the river is here.
CHORUS
The river of God
sets our feet a dancing
the river of God
fills our hearts with cheer.
The river of God
Fills our mouth with laughter
And we rejoice for the river is here!
2.The river of God
Is teeming with life,
And all who touch it
Can be revived
And those who linger
On the river’s shore
Will come back thirsting
For more of the Lord.
CHORUS
3. Up to the mountain
We love to go
To find the presence of the Lord.
Along the banks
of the river we run,
We dance with laughter
giving praise to the Son.
Copyright 1994 Mercy Publishing via Alpha and Omega Dist. P/L
Used by permission under CCLI license no. 113082 (Praise and Worship song 761)
Read:
John 8:37-39. Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
(John 8:37-39 NIV)
Thought for the Day:
What do you like about rivers?
What qualities do rivers have?
Spend some time wondering what Jesus is trying to tell you by using this image.
Filled with the Holy Spirit?
(Devotion by Graeme Harrison)
Prayer: Hymn of the Resurrection
I glorify the power of the Father,
I magnify the power of the Son,
and I sing a hymn of praise to the power of the Holy Spirit:
one Godhead,
Trinity indivisible, uncreated,
equal in essence and reigning forever. Amen.
(Sourced from A Treasury of Prayers in Uniting in Worship, copyright 1988 Uniting Church in Australia)
Read:
Ephesians 5:15-20 NIV. Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Ephesians 5:15-20 NIV)
Thought for the Day:
“Filled” with the Spirit? What can this mean? It is obviously a wonderful experience in the Christian life. It is also involves the “heart” and the emotions. It is a positive experience because it helps the Christian focus on thankfulness. It is something enjoyed best together (verse 19). It apparently made Paul think of drunken parties where in the first stage alcohol loosens people up to have fun together but in the next stage reduces them to uncontrolled damaging behaviour and regrets. I suspect Paul saw a parallel to the first stage (otherwise why mention it at all?) but rather than damaging the community the Holy Spirit that fills each of us brings out the very best in us.
If you thought Paul was talking about a charismatic worship service, you would be wrong. This is the part of the letter where he talks about everyday life. It is also clear the being filled with he Spirit can happen repeatedly in your life.
Do you think you know what being filled with the Spirit is? Then invite God to fill you today. If you don’t know then there is a great surprise waiting (and available) to you. Seek and you shall find, ask and it will be given (Lk 11:9-13)
Holy Spirit: Spirit of Creativity
(Devotion by Graeme Harrison)
Prayer: The workshop of the Carpenter
O Christ, the Master Carpenter,
who at the last through wood and nails
purchased our whole salvation;
wield well your tools in the workshop of your world,
so that we, who come rough-hewn to your bench,
may here be fashioned to a truer beauty by your hand.
We ask this in your name and for your sake. Amen.
A prayer of the Iona Community, Scotland
(Sourced from A Treasury of Prayers in Uniting in Worship, copyright 1988 Uniting Church in Australia)
Read:
Exodus 35:30-35, 36:1 NIV. Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
30 Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— 32 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 33 to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts. 34 And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers. 36 1 So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.”
(Exodus 35:30-35, 36:1 NIV)
Thought for the Day:
Christians have a love/hate relationship with beauty and art. The Puritan tradition stripped their churches of anything beautiful because the Catholic church at its worst was filled with expensive fine art and images. Furthermore, they didn’t want any attachments to the world to get in the way so they emptied homes and clothing of all jewellery, colour and art. All of this was seen as self-indulgence and following the way of the world. But our passage seems to be saying that they ‘threw the baby out with the bathwater’. God loves creativity and artistic flair and beauty. The Holy Spirit took Bezalel’s and Oholiab’s human skills to the next level by his power because the cause was worthy.
Beauty brings us to praise the greatest artist of all; God. Greed sullies beauty, because beauty cannot be possessed, it can only be received as a gift from above. Appreciate the beauty that artists have brought you today. Look at art, gardens, architecture, clothing, and the creation. Enjoy.
Holy Spirit: Spirit of Fellowship
(Devotion by Graeme Harrison)
Prayer:
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Ezek 36:26
Into the warmth of your presence we come, Lord God
With the offerings of our praise, our worship, our prayers and our lives.
Into the warmth of your presence we come, Lord God
Freed from the distractions of the world, free to meditate on your word.
Into the warmth of your presence we come, Lord God
To be blessed by the depth of your love and the warmth of this fellowship.
It is good to be here, Lord; good to be in fellowship with each other; good to know the presence of your Spirit in this place; good to know that you are here with us, listening, prompting, touching lives, healing, renewing, making us whole. Amen
https://www.faithandworship.com/liturgy11.htm
Read:
2 Corinthians 13:11-14 NIV. Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All God’s people here send their greetings.
14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
(2 Corinthians 13:11-14 NIV)
Thought for the Day:
When I started going to church as a teenager they kept using this strange word around the church; fellowship. It seemed to be something important but it was not a word in the teenage vocabulary. Seeing they had tea and fellowship after church I decided that it meant a very weak form of friendship that enjoyed each other’s company but never got past superficial things.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered much later on that the Bible used this word (koinonia in Greek) to mean the very deepest form of bond that a human being could have with another. The sort of bond forged after surviving great adventures or traumas together. A bond so deep that it reflected the love of Father, Son and Holy Spirit for one another. Deeper and more eternal than friendship. A bond forged between human beings with the Spirit’s help and the mark of a church. A bond forged with God himself with the Spirit’s help. A bond so precious that Paul uttered it as a blessing at the end of his letter to the church family in Corinth.
Explore what this might mean for you; the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit: Spirit of Imaginative Prayer
(Devotion by Graeme Harrison)
Prayer: The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and forever. Amen.
(Sourced from A Treasury of Prayers in Uniting in Worship, copyright 1988 Uniting Church in Australia)
Read:
Romans 8:19-27. Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)
26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.
(Romans 8:19-27 NLT)
Thought for the Day:
Prayer is made for the imagination. Sometimes all our prayers are based on the evil we see and we ask God to fix it. But prayer is where God invites us into his creative space and asks us to imagine what your world or community be like if God’s kingdom reigned here. Pray for that. Pray for the good that you do not yet see.
To do this you need to be familiar with what God values most in life because it his Kingdom that we pray will be “on earth as it is in heaven”. We only have Jesus’ teachings to guide our imagination. And imagination sometimes leads to action when the Spirit gets involved. But prayer is more art than science.
Many of us have got out of the habit of dreaming and imagining and even the most prayerfully creative get stumped. But there is good news for all of us; the Spirit helps us in this weakness of prayerful imagination. The Spirit hears our yearnings and our deep desires that things be simply better and interprets this for us to the Father’s heart. Even our rambling prayers are made effective because the Spirit is joined to our spirit and knows what we mean even if we can’t … like… well … err… what I am trying to say … perhaps I should begin again… I just really wanna say … oh dear this is getting awkward …sorry.
Holy Spirit Week: Spirit of Love
(Devotion by Graeme Harrison)
This week we are focussing on who the Holy Spirit is in Scripture in the lead up to the festival of Pentecost when the Spirit was given to all people of faith not just a special few. May you discover the richness of what God has given for you.
Prayer: Fear not
How many times, after I had sinned,
you comforted me, as a good father,
and you kissed me warmly as a son or a daughter,
and you stretched out your arms to me and cried out:
rise up, fear not, stand up, come! Amen.
Excerpt from a prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ,
St John of Damascus, 7th-8th century
(Sourced from A Treasury of Prayers in Uniting in Worship, copyright 1988 Uniting Church in Australia)
Read:
Romans 8:14-17. Read this 3 times, each time asking God’s help and thinking about those words or phrases that leap out at you.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
(Romans 8:14-17 NIV)
Thought for the Day:
It is theologically correct to say God is Father but it is life changing to “cry” Abba, Father.