We’ve come to the end of a difficult chapter. Paul doesn’t mess around when it comes to sin. He takes it seriously and we should too. We finished yesterday reflecting on the ways we could be misjudging the other Christians around us.
Today, we’re taking a hard look in the mirror. Like we talked about yesterday, calling out the sins in other people begins in us. So we’re going to invite the Holy Spirit to do some work.
Find some time today to be in silence-and-solitude, without distractions. It could be five minutes. It could be an hour. Turn off your phone. Put your computer out of sight. And be silent.
Start off by thanking God for what he’s done for you through Jesus.
Think about Jesus’s gruesome death and miraculous resurrection. Thank God for ending the war against death.
Next, ask the Spirit to show you the sin that’s crept into your life.
As he shows you, confess it to God. Pray for tangible ways to turn away from that sin. If there’s something habitual—like what Paul talks about in this chapter—ask God to direct you toward help.
Close by asking God for strength to choose an others-centered life despite the risk.
Tell him any fears you have about confronting the sin in your life and in the lives of others. Pray that he would guide you in being both gracious and truthful.
After the Spirit shows you some of the sin in your life, you might feel overwhelmed. You might want to give up. You might think you’ll never change. If that’s you, grab a Christian friend and tell them what God just revealed to you. Confess your sin. Pray together.
We were never meant to do this Christian life alone. We need each other. Together, we walk hand-in-hand toward Jesus.
Were you able to spend some time in silence-and-solitude with God today following the reading? (A yes/no answer would be sufficient for today)
Text your response to the above prompting questions to your group and/or share it as a comment below
I was able to spend some time with God today but I don’t think I spend enough alone time with God on a usual basis. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by all of the responsibilities that I have so I feel like I’m just going from one responsibility to another. Usually, I feel like, I wish either the day was longer or if I could just pause time every once in a while to have some down time. I would take this time to spend with God and also take some time to think about some things that I feel like I should be considering or even spending some time alone in my thoughts. Hopefully, God will help me in figuring out what I need to focus on and the stuff that I may be focused on but should probably drop.
I was not able to take time to rlly journal and spend time with God today but I was super thankful he gave me today to really rest from my stressful week!