Spend some time with God

Saturday Devotional:

Reach New Heights

John 17:20-23

Jesus Prays for Believers Everywhere

20 “I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, 21 that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. 22 The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one - 23 I in them and you in me - that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me.

Have you ever had a best friend? Someone you were so connected with that you had the same thoughts at the same time? Can you predict what that person wants to eat for dessert after dinner, or when they need an encouragement to push through a difficult time? Do you finish each other's sentences? (Or sandwiches! trademarked by Frozen)

Getting that close with someone, or a group of people, is not easy. It takes time, and intentional connection where you listen and learn about each other. It also means we have to let down our guard and the walls that we may have built up that might keep others at distance.

Jesus prayers an incredible prayer in John 17. If you read it once and sped through it, stop now and go read it again. Jesus is asking God to create an intimate connection with those who believe. He is asking for a relationship so deep that it would continue to show God's love in the world. Jesus prays for help in bringing unity so that the entity of the church would be as connected as He is with His Father, and that the church would be one with them, aligning our purpose and focus with theirs. We did not deserve to be in a relationship with God, let alone be brought into an intimate unity with them, and yet, this is one of the closing prayers and desires of Jesus in His final moments with His disciples.

This prayer not only encourages the relationship with His disciples, but it also affirms their purpose to continue on with God's work in the world. It is important for us to see that our call to change the world is connected with our ability to be united with God, and also with each other.

Journalling Questions:
1) Just take a moment to stop and pray. Hear the call of Jesus knocking on the door of your heart, asking to be one with you. What noise, busyness, identity, history, etc. is present in your life that blocks your ability to be fully connected to Jesus? Take time to pray over those things and invite Jesus to be the first voice you hear, the first thing on your priority list, and that you would find your identity in Him.

2) Now take some time to listen to think about community. What parts of your life do you need to start opening up to create a more intimate community with others? Do not think about what you wish others would do right now. As your unity with Jesus increases, what ways is He leading you to change so that you would be able to grow in your unity with others around you?

3) One of the beautiful parts about community with God is that He also brings us into community with others. This morning's time is a time for a morning devotional and for a MOI (Moments of Impact). Anytime you see MOI on the schedule, your job is to talk to someone at retreat and share what God is putting on your heart. It could be asking for prayer, sharing what God is teaching you, or encouraging someone else by speaking to them in their life. Take some time to have a MOI with someone.

4) Spend sometime praying on your own, or with someone else, asking for God to move you to a closer connection with Him this weekend.

Sunday Devotional:

Reach New Heights

Psalm 67

1 May God show us his favor and bless us!

May he smile on us! (Selah)

2 Then those living on earth will know what you are like;

all nations will know how you deliver your people.

This is a psalm we can get behind pretty easily! God show us favor! God please bless us and smile on us! We are all in on that! Can I get an "amen"?

This connection with God is a blessing in so many different ways, but it also comes with purpose. God's interactions with us are not just to benefit us, but to bring glory to Him. When we are one with God, those living on earth will know what God is like. They see His faithfulness to us. From yesterday's devotional, they will see us united with Him and will see His love being sent into the world.

A lot of times in faith, in church, life in general, we look to see each experience and "how it benefits ME." I like to use the term "self-focused" perspective. We can read Psalm 67, and in a self-focused perspective, we read it as scripture that is about our blessing. In actuality, Psalm 67 is about the action of God, the glory of His name, and the response of those who witness it. Our community can spur each other on to "reach new heights" by shifting from self-focused perspectives to God-focused perspectives.

How do we let those on earth know what God is like? How do we proclaim God's faithfulness so that all nations will know how faithful He is to deliver? How do we become trees that produce fruit for others to come be nourished by? (Remember John 15 - we are not branches, connected to the vine, to produce fruit for the branches! We do not produce fruit for ourselves, it is to bless others)

As a community striving to reach new heights, spurring one another on towards love and good deeds, let's turn our focus to God's glory and purpose, so that all nations will know God's loving faithfulness.

Journalling Questions

1) Reflecting on your life, what favor and blessings has God shown you? When are the moments you have most felt God smiling down on you? Remember them, write them down, and thank God for them today.

2) Have you taken any of those blessings and favor to use to show the world how faithful God is to deliver His people? Have you been able to share how God has blessed you both in the best of times and how he has also delivered you through the most difficult times?

3) Yesterday, the passage in John 17 said, "23 I in them and you in me - that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me." How can we take a gratitude of God's blessings, and use them to be united with each other, to show the world God's love?

4) MOI: How can we grow in our love to grow our community? Is there anyone that you need to take steps with to create, restore or continue community as reach new heights together? Is there anyone that you can meet with and encourage to show God's love today?