WEEK 2 REFLECTIONS
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Sunday
God wants to make us brand new. Second Corinthians says this:
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17
God is making you a new creation. That transformation and renewal begin in your mind. The life you have is a reflection of your thoughts. Your life is always moving in the direction of your strongest thoughts. When you change your thinking, you transform your life.
Pray today that God will change and renew your mind.
Monday
“Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
John 20:19-20
John tells us that on the day of Jesus’ resurrection, out of fear, the apostles locked themselves in a room. They feared being arrested and killed as Jesus had been. They were concerned about their future. They thought they had no hope at all. Their minds were filled with worry and confusion. They had thought Jesus was the Messiah. They had thought Jesus was going to lead Israel to overthrow the Romans and then become king of Israel. They had thought that, as his closest followers, they would be large and in charge as a result.
Now that Jesus had been killed, they thought they were next and so, they were confused about what to do. On top of that, they had been told that Jesus’ tomb was empty and some women reported that they had seen Jesus. But the disciples did not know what to think of that. They had no expectation that Jesus was going to rise from the dead. In the midst of their confusion and worry, Jesus offers them peace.
God wants to bring peace to our minds. He does not want us living with confusion or worry. Name something that is confusing you or causing you worry. Ask the Father to replace it with peace instead.
Tuesday
Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked…then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
John 20:26-27
The apostle Thomas was not in the Upper Room the night of the resurrection. He refused to believe in Jesus’ resurrection until he touched Jesus’ wounds. So Jesus comes to Thomas and encourages him to do what he needs to do to believe. He says, “Do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Jesus tells Thomas not to doubt the power of God to raise him from the dead but to believe.
Don’t insist on negative thinking. Do not be unbelieving and think that you are the way you are and there is nothing you can do about it. Instead, believe: hold as true in your mind the power of the resurrection to change and transform you.
Pray for the grace today to believe in the power of the resurrection and to free your mind of any unbelieving in its power.
Wednesday
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
John 20:30-31
The renewal of our minds comes through faith in the person of Jesus Christ and in his resurrection. Jesus is risen from the dead. We know this to be true and to be the final word. Since we know that Jesus is risen from the dead, then we do not have to worry about our future. We can focus our minds on the truth that, in being connected to Christ, we will always rise — sin and death never have the final word
Our minds can be renewed as we remember that Jesus conquered the grave. We don’t have to fill our minds with negative self-talk. We don’t have to call ourselves names. We know that, just as Jesus conquered the grave, we are more than conquerors because we are connected to him.
While we may replay past hurts and pain over and over again in our minds, because Jesus is risen, those wounds do not have to have power over us. By Jesus’ wounds, we are healed and made whole.
Pray for the grace to believe that — because of the resurrection — all things are possible.
Thursday
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:5-6
Paul writes that some live according to the flesh or what is merely in their own self-interest. The flesh does not mean the body, but rather our self-centered selves. When we set our minds on the flesh, it means we only consider what we want and desire. We live for us. When we live according to the Holy Spirit, we set our minds or thinking on pleasing God.
When we set our minds only on ourselves and our egos then death follows: death of relationships, death of our peace and security. When we set our minds on what pleases God, peace is brought to us.
Pray today for the grace to set your mind on God’s will and his Spirit.
Friday
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2
Paul urges the Romans to present their bodies as a living sacrifice to God. Then he tells them how to do it. He says that they are not to conform their thinking to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. As they renew their minds in Christ, they will know how to offer their bodies and lives as an acceptable sacrifice to God.
Change in our lives begins in our minds. It is why we cannot allow the world or our culture to conform us to the way it thinks. Instead, we renew our minds by reading God’s word and reflecting on what God says about us.
Take a moment to reflect on the verse above. Ask God to renew your mind.
Saturday
Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Exult, you just, in the LORD;
praise from the upright is fitting.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.
Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Psalm 33