Week 5 | Day 1 | Pay Attention

Command:

“Receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:22 (NIV)

Read:

The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. 1 John 3:24 (NIV)

Reflect:

Ever been on the outside looking in? Even in a crowd I can feel isolated and alone. Sometimes, at night by myself on the street it seems I’m facing the world on my own. It’s cold. But when I take Christ’s last words seriously, “Pay attention, I am always by your side and on your side.” (Matt. 28:20), I find I can shift my attention to his nearby presence. Isolation evaporates and a warm solitude with Christ arises. The iron clad commitment of Christ is to breathe his powerful presence around and in us every moment. Remember, this is solid, every moment of every day.  

The space around you is not empty. It is dense and lush with the presence of Christ. The space inside our bodies is also filled with the presence of Christ. We live in Christ and Christ lives in us. Not a metaphor. Practice this. 

In Christ is all goodness and wisdom. When we take note of his presence in and around us, we can focus on his good traits and the wisdom to put them into practice. We can access the wisdom to follow his guidance and act out his goodness onto whoever is set before us. Doing so puts us in sync with the Holy Spirit and we feel congruent with Christ and the love his Spirit pours into us (Rom 5:5) as we pour his love onto a love starved human. The Spirit resonates within us when we live in his guidance. “And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.” 

React:

So, attend to Christ, who is always attending to you.

Pray:

Jesus, I gaze intently into your glorious goodness holding me tight. I run with you.