Category: Angled Mirrors

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NRSVUE
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Verse 1 of Fanny J. Crosby’s “Blessed Assurance” (1873) says:
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior, all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior, all the day long.

Indeed, this is our story, and this is our song. We have been rescued and are being transformed by the Spirit of God into that very image of Jesus, so that Christians can then reflect that image to the world. As Jesus reflects the glory of the Father, believers reflect the glory of the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit. While complete transformation lies in the future, today we are Spirit-filled believers who can reflect the glory of God in a world that desperately needs light and hope.

Prayer: Lord, we belong to you. As those who have been rescued, may we be a people who continually praise, continually pray, and continually give thanks. May we regularly behold Jesus and reflect the glory of God in our cities, campuses, workplaces, and homes. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to the song “Blessed Assurance” by Sovereign Grace Music (click here).

-MR

 

 

Philippians 1:3-7a NRSVUE
3 I thank my God for every remembrance of you, 4 always in every one of my prayers for all of you, praying with joy 5 for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart, for all of you are my partners in God’s grace,

We can be encouraged today that God has begun a good work in us, and he will be the one who will carry it unto completion. The faith that we have in Jesus is only because the living God has worked in our hearts through the gospel. We are children of God, and how amazing is the truth that we are partners in the gospel and partners in God’s grace. May our hearts be aligned more with his heart, and may our prayers increase for salvation to happen.

Prayer: Father, thank you for your grace and assurance that what you have begun in me, you will complete. I am grateful for the partnership in the gospel we have in our campus ministries and missional groups. May there be salvations. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to the song “I Believe” by Charity Gayle (click here).

-MR

 

Ephesians 3:8b-12 NRSVUE
With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.

“But here is the problem: that we have seen the goal of it all as ‘humans being rescued so that they could have fellowship with God,’ but the Bible sees the goal of it all as ‘humans being rescued so that they could sum up the praises of all creation and look after that creation as God’s wise stewards.’” (John H. Walton, The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2–3 and the Human Origins Debate, 175–176)

Prayer: Father, thank you for your rescue. May I live for the praise of your glory and be a faithful steward of all you have entrusted to me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s fix our eyes on God and worship to “Turn Your Eyes” by Sovereign Grace Music (click here).

-MR

2 Corinthians 3:18 NRSVUE
18 And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

“The power of the Holy Spirit empowers us…to treat others with dignity and respect because we ‘are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit’ (2 Corinthians 3:18). Since we were created by God as image bearers, we will only find our true joy, happiness, and fulfillment as we live our lives seeking to reflect his glory.” (JP Foster, Matt Williams, and Welton Pleasant, Finding Freedom in Jesus: The 21 Attributes of Your Identity in Christ).

As we live as image bearers, even the way we see other people changes. We can treat others with dignity and respect, as Jesus did, because all human beings have dignity and worth, having been created in the image of God. The Holy Spirit empowers us to see others this way.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the Spirit’s empowering. May I be transformed into Jesus’ image with ever-increasing glory, becoming more and more like our gentle and humble Lord Jesus, in my daily life and in my interactions with others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship in song to “Glory to Glory” by Worship Central (click here).

-MR

 

Let’s read aloud together the following passages and prayer:

Colossians 1:15-19 NIV
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.

Romans 8:29 NTFE
Those he foreknew, you see, he also marked out in advance to be shaped according to the model of the image of his son, so that he might be the firstborn of a large family.

 Prayer: Father, we thank you for your truth. Thank you that we are created in the image of God and that we are God’s image bearers. Thank you for our brothers and sisters in AMC, ALC, AHC, Ecc Paris and Ecc NYC. We praise you that you have marked out in advance that we would be shaped according to Jesus’ image. Our hope is in you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s sing and pray according to “More Like Jesus” by Passion (click here).

-MR