Today is Friday the 3rd of June, and this week we are joining millions of Christians around the world in the global prayer movement, ‘Thy Kingdom Come’.
Each day we are meditating on the Bible and being encouraged by the Most Revd Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
As I enter prayer now, I pause to be still; to breathe slowly, to re-centre my scattered senses upon the presence of God.
Creator God, who formed humanity from dust, breathe in me again. Revive me and sanctify me by the power of Your Spirit. Set my heart on fire with the good news of Your gospel.
I choose to rejoice in God’s unfailing love today, joining with the ancient praise of all God’s people in the words of Psalm 100…
Worship the Lord with gladness.
Psalm 100:2-3a, 5 (NLT)
Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his…
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
Today I am continuing to explore Peter’s words to the Early Church, and the significance that they have for the way that I live today…
For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.
The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:6-8 (NIVUK)
‘The generosity of God overflows with such power that even death is swept away. Whilst we do not fully understand the mechanisms of salvation, we are encountered by the one who gives life to the dead.
Where people turn away, God welcomes. Where we are tempted to judge, God calls us to love. When flesh inevitably dies, spirit lives. It is a call to live according to God’s standards, rather than wither according to our own.’*
What does the gospel mean to me? Am I living in the reality of the beautiful truth that God has saved me from death, or are the challenges and worries of the world distracting me from that truth at present?
I think of someone who, because of negative experiences of Christians or Christianity, feels they are not welcomed by the Church or maybe even by God.
Holy Spirit, I ask You to show them Your unfailing love. Give me one thing I could do for them today that would demonstrate Your welcome.
As I return to the passage, I open my ears to hear Your word, and my heart to yield to Your will once again.
For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.
The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:6-8 (NIVUK)
These words of Peter encourage me that life as a Christian should reflect the gospel I believe. I am called by God to love others deeply, even and especially when I feel like they don’t deserve it.
Jesus, I receive Your promise of life and forgiveness afresh today. Help me to live in a way that glorifies You, and displays Your gospel with those around me.
And now, as I prepare to take this time of prayer into the coming day, the Lord who loves me says in 2 Corinthians:
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 (NIVUK)
Father, help me to live this day to the full,
being true to You, in every way.
Jesus, help me to give myself away to others,
being kind to everyone I meet.
Spirit, help me to love the lost,
proclaiming Christ in all I do and say.
Amen.
* Archbishop Justin Welby, Thy Kingdom Come: Novena, Reflections on 1 Peter, (London: Church House Publishing 2022), Day 8, p. 20.
