SPIRITUAL EXCERCISES & RSV BIBLE EXTRACTS - WEEK 108
STARTS THURSDAY 18th FEBRUARY 2010
CONVERSION - CHANGE OF HEART IS GOD’S WORK
Weekly message No. 103 (13th February 1986).
Called to change and conversion.
“Dear children! This Lent is a special incentive for you to change. Start from this moment. Turn off the television and renounce various things that are of no value. Dear children, I am calling you individually to conversion. This season is for you. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
PRACTICAL:
During Lent make a good Confession, ‘life’s confession’ if possible.
Thursday: Salt of the earth and light for the world.
Matthew 5:13-16.
24“Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; 25and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; 27and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.” 28And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
Friday: The call for repentance and change of heart.
Matthew 3:1-3.
1In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
Cf. Mark 1:15.
15And saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Saturday: Unless we change and become like little children we cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Matthew 18:1-4.
1At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, 3and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Sunday: “Put aside your old self … and put on the ‘New Man’
that has been created on God’s principles.”
Ephesians 4:22-24.
22Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, 23and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Cf. Romans 13:11-14.
11Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; 12the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; 13let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Monday: There is a new creation; it is all God's work.
2 Corinthians 5:17-19.
17Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. 18All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
Cf. Romans 5:10.
10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
Tuesday: Giving up all the bad things of human behaviour and be renewed in the image of the Creator.
Colossians 3:8-11.
8But now put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices 10and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all.
Wednesday: The new life in Christ: “You were darkness once,
but now you are light in the Lord;
behave as children of light.”
Ephesians 5:8-15.
8for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret; 13but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. 14Therefore it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.” 15Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise.