Lent 2024 | Day 15

By Janet Nygren
Day 15 (Friday, Mar 1)

As I enter prayer now, I pause to be still; to breathe slowly, to re-center my scattered senses upon the presence of God.¹

Pause and pray.

“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 2:1-5)

Think about it.

This week we have been looking at dying to reputation as a way of suffering like Jesus. As we looked at the examples of Paul and John, we saw both of them experiencing joy in knowing Jesus. That joy greatly surpassed anything else they might have lost by humbling themselves and letting go of their reputation. Hopefully as you have considered your own life, you have experienced something similar. In today’s passage, Paul reminds us that what we have experienced should not be an end in itself, but invested in other people. We want to share the encouragement, comfort, and love we have received with others, just as Jesus did with us.

Consider.

None of us can exist in isolation. We are part of a community. We have family, God has put us into a church family, and we live in neighborhoods. If God has given you any encouragement this week, who might he want you to share that with? It’s interesting to note that Paul says that his joy will be complete when others follow in his footsteps. A resurrection moment happens in him when he sees fruit from his own sacrifice–other believers passing along the love that he passed along to them.

Pause and pray.

Jesus, help me to know you better.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

Notes
1. Prayer used daily in Lectio365 found at https://www.24-7prayer.com/resource/lectio-365/