In the moment(s) of dying to self, what did you learn?  What might you say about those moments to give you strength when the next “dying moment” comes?  What could you say that might encourage another facing the cost of discipleship? 

As you “die”: 

What does God reveal to you about God?

What does God reveal to you about yourself?

What does God reveal to you about others? 

Do you know these by heart?

Seek, find, and inscribe upon your heart words of scripture or song that help you be a sacrificial steward of your life. 

Scripture: 

Psalm 42:1-3                           My soul thirsts for the living

 God

Isaiah 40:27-31                       Those who wait on the Lord

 will renew their

 strength

Matthew 11:28-30                  I will give you rest

2 Corinthians 12:7b-10           God’s power made

perfect in weakness

Songs:

Tree of Life and Awesome Mystery               ELW #334

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross                      ELW #335

Beneath the Cross of Jesus                             ELW #338

A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth              ELW #340

Take My Life, That I May Be                         ELW #685

We Are an Offering                                        ELW #692

“Once Upon a Time I lost my life.”   

Was there ever a time when you completely set aside your pride or preferences or abundance for the sake of another? 

It may have been a situation that took you somewhere or towards someone that you REALLY abhorred.  Or it may have been an occurrence when circumstances stripped you of all power where there was no hope for you to “save” yourself.

How did that opportunity come your way?  How did you approach the moment of sacrifice? 

What was the result of that sacrifice?  How or where have you seen the “much fruit” that Jesus describes about the outcome of “dying to self”? 

Do you love your life?

John 12:20-33  (excerpt below)

…Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

"Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say--' Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.

Loyalty is a wonderful thing.  It describes a relationship that will not be shaken or diluted by time or circumstance.  Once you proclaim your loyalty, you are in a relationship to the person or organization that only YOU can dissolve. 

Jesus has been teaching about and modeling the way God’s Kingdom.  Although the disciples haven’t always understood completely, they have been following by his side or closely behind him. 

This week is the week of commitment. Jesus is laying it on the line, so to speak.  This is the week that we learn CLEARLY what Jesus is asking us, and all loyal disciples to do, even as he goes before us to do it first. 

In  order to be loyal (i.e., to follow) Him we must set aside all that we claim as our life and possessions.  The only way the greatest good of life or resources can unfold is to set it all before Christ as you follow him and stand with Him at the cross. 

For reflection and writing: 

If Christian Discipleship requires your willingness to lose your life for the sake of others, consider this:  Is there anything you hold so precious that you would hesitate to surrender it for the sake of another?  What is it?  How can you loosen your hold on it (or its hold upon you)?

By the way, if there is nothing that you withhold—not time, talent (ability) or possession, use this day to give thanks for whatever it is that has made that possible.   Perhaps you can use this day share your abundance with another.  

Inscribed upon the heart

Jeremiah 31:31-34

The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt--a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD.

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Reflection:

What types of information do you know by heart? 

To know something this well means that we can repeat it without much thought.  It is literally on the tip of our tongue. 

How does something become “known” in this way (by heart)?  Perhaps we work to memorize the information.  Or perhaps we think of it or use it so frequently that it becomes embedded and readily accessible.  It is more than just knowing something.  To know something by heart means that it can be transmitted in an instant – no searching the data banks of our mind. 

Perhaps the reason this kind of information is described as being “known by heart” has something to do with its practicality.  Perhaps, also it has something to do with the emotional connection it has to our personal experience. 

When something is written upon our heart we no longer think about it.  Some have said that the distance between the head and the heart is the longest distance in creation, especially when it pertains to our understanding of God’s sovereignty, mercy and love. 

Let your light shine so that others may see.

As you have written (or thought) about your movement from dark into light, doubt into faith, unbelief into belief, consider the touch points of grace. What are some of the ripple effects that might flesh out your own "witness" to others about Jesus Christ.  

How does your own story resonate in your memory as a source of inspiration on your own dark days?  To whom might you tell your story as a way to inspire them?  (a child?  A young adult?  A seeker?  Anyone who is questioning faith?) 

Words of Light

Seek, find and read scripture or lyrics to a hymn which relates to your idea of who Jesus is and how God reaches out to all the world in Christ.

Memorize or record these words so that you have them readily accessible when you face the darkness of doubt within or around you. 

Scripture: 

John 3:14-21                            For God so loved the world

Romans 8:31-39                       I am convinced

Philippians 2:5-11                   At the name of Jesus every knee should bend

Song:

I Love to Tell the Story                                  ELW #661

What Wondrous Love Is This?                       ELW #666

Lord, Speak to Us, That We May Speak        ELW #676

This Little Light of Mine                                ELW #677