Part I The mindset and attitude

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.

Crucified.  At our baptism, we crucified our old self by confessing our sins and by dying to our sinful nature.  We continue to practice self-crucifixion daily in our new life (Luke 9: 23).  this means to say 'no' to what our sinful nature wants, and choose to do what pleases God (Titus 2:11-12).

Christ lives in me. Jesus exemplifies for us how the Father lives in him (John 14: 10).  And now we can imitate his example to have Christ live in us - and by extension, God in us.  With Christ living in me, I listen to his voice, follow his command, and I let him accomplish his purpose through my life.

I live by faith.  Letting someone take over our lives takes a lot of courage and trust!  Faith and obedience are like a dance: as I take the step to obey, I experience that God can be trusted, and then my faith grows.  As my faith increases, I feel confident to take the next step to obey.  Faith is about putting our hope and confidence in a better future in God's hand, even though we cannot see it with our eyes now (Hebrews 11: 1-2).  Without faith, it's hard to obey.

I do not set aside the grace of God.  God proved his unconditional love and acceptance of us while we were still sinners!  How much more now that we have accepted his forgiveness and are redeemed!  By remembering to give thanks daily or his love for us, we are empowered to live this lnew life for him and with him.

Read Galatians 2:20-21

Part II Jesus is the Lord

Love the Lord your God…. Love your neighbor Exactly what does this mean and how?

Love the Lord with all your heart

Read Proverbs 4:23 and Psalm 42: 1-2 . Cultivate a pure heart and a deep longing for God

Love God with all your mind

Read Ephesians 4:17-23 and Romans 12:2.  Renew your mind with godly perspectives and replace worldly, negative, and sabotaging messages with wholesome and pure thoughts from the Bible.  Be on your guard with what you read and watch that feeds your mind with worldly philosophies, obscene language, perverted conduct, and offensive behavior, that are deemed normal in the world.  We have to be proactive and intentional in protecting our minds from worldly influence.

Love God with all your strength

• Strength in our Body.  Read 1 Corinthians 6: 19 – 20. We can honor God with our body by taking care of it with nutrition, exercise, regular health check-up, and hygiene maintenance. 

• Strength in our Possessions.  Read Matthew 25:14-30 and 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31.  God expects us to be good stewards in managing our money.  At the same time, we do not become attached to our material possessions. 

• Strength at work/school. Read Colossians 3:23.  We honor God at work by striving for excellence as if we are working for him, not for the world.

Love God with all your soul. 

In our daily priorities. Read Matthew 6:33 -34 and 7:21-23. Above all else, put God first.  Your relationship with him should come above all others, your desire to please him and honor him should come above all else.  Your willingness to trust him to provide should come before your self-reliance.   

In our relationships. Read 2 Corinthians 6:14, Proverbs 12: 26, and James 4:4.   Choose our friends, dating partner, and marriage partner carefully, as they can influence us to get closer to God, or further away from him, 

Read Mathew 22:37-39

Part III My Ministry

Read Matthew 28:18-20,

The Great Commission 

Right before Jesus ascended to heaven, he commissioned his disciples to continue his ministry on earth: to make disciples of all nations, to baptize them, and to teach them to obey his commandments.  He does not leave us alone but promises to be with us and he enables us to do even greater things than he did. 

Read 2 Corinthians 5: 14-20

The Ministry of Reconciliation 

When we come out of the water of baptism, we are a new creation! Our worldview has changed: we do not see people as we used to: by their cultural, social, professional, or financial status.  Instead,  we see them through the eyes of Jesus: people who are living under the slavery of sins without the redeeming love of Christ.

Because we have experienced the power of God's love, and are grateful for our relationship with God, we desire for others to have the same.  As Christ's ambassadors, we always look for opportunities to share the love of Go with people God put in our path. 

Read 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Becoming all things to all people 

Paul exemplifies for us the courage to step into someone’s world in order to win them for Christ. Our identity is now in Christ, not in our worldly values, therefor we can be fearless to break social norms and customs, or go outside of our comfort zone in order to persuade people to be reconciled to God.

Part IV Practicing Spiritual Disciplines

Practice the Spiritual Disciplines In Our Relationship with God

Solitude.  Read Mark 1:35.  Making time with God alone, to seek him, to know him, to connect with him. This is the most important relationship you can ever have. Early morning, late evenings – when your mind is least distracted and most receptive to hearing from God.  You can also take God on a date in nature.

Prayer.  Read Colossians 4:2 and Epehsians 6: 18..  Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. · Pray with Thanksgiving: Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation´, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. · Pray to surrender, to do God’s well Matthews 26:39 · Pray as if already received Mark 11:24 (visualization prayer) · Pray with faith Matthew 21: 21 and expectations Psalm 5:3

Fasting.  Plan regular time to fast for breakthroughs, new assignments, interceding for others (person, church, nation), and for seeking extra help from God in times of crisis (job change, marriage, illness). Keep a fasting journal as each fasting brings a new experience and growth.

Study.   Devoted yourself to knowing God and his will through his words.  There are a variety of approach to learn the Bible

• By Sections of the Bible (The Torah, Major or minor Prophets, Epistles, etc.)

• By individual books like Acts, Proverbs, Hebrews, and Revelation.

• By Theme: the Parables, Women in the Bible, Kings of Israel, and so on.

• By Topic. Forgiveness, Grace, Sabbath, fasting, and so on.

• By character: Ruth, Joseph, Paul, Abigail, Abraham. and so on.

• Go deeper with Jesus and learn how he connects with God and interacts with people

Use study aids such as commentary, online Bible (such as Bible Gateway) Keyword search, or online Bible reading plans.  There are also blogs, podcasts,  and videos offering excellent teachings on the Bible.

Sabbath.  Read Isaiah 30:15.  Rest. Slow down your brain activities (the doings) and focus on your identity and authenticity as a child of God (being). Remove yourself from noises: people's agenda, and demands to consume, control, and waste.  Make time to connect with God, to reflect, to align your desires and will with God’s. Do something fun and enjoyable, And simply enjoy being you, the crown glory of God’s creation.

Read 2 Peter 1: 3-8

God gives us his divine power to live a godly life and to grow spiritually. This is a promise. What then is our part? We are to make every effort to grow in our knowledge, our faith, and in bearing spiritual fruits in our lives. Here are some practical tips.

Practice the Spiritual Disciplines for Personal Maturity

Self-Control Read 1 Thessalonians 4: 3-5, James 1:26, and Proverbs 17:28 .  Learn to control of our body, tongue,  and temper.

Confession Read 1 John 1:9 and James 5: 16.  Have people in your life you can trust to confess.

Reflection Psalm 77: 3 – 6 and Psalm 139: 23-24.  Practice reflection to gain wisdom and insight, and soul searching to know yourself and God's way with you.

Secrecy Read Matthew 6:1 -3, John 5:41-44.  avoid the temptation to seek praise from men,

Practice the Spiritual Displine of One Another

Worship  Read John 4:23-24 and Psalm 95:6 & 9.  God is pleased and honored when his people come together, united in heart and mind, to praise him and worship him.  This collective experience has the power to strengthen our faith.

Fellowship Read Acts 2:42-47 and Hebrews 3:12-13.   Christianity is never meant to be practiced only in solitude.  In the fellowship of believers, we put into practice the command to love and encourage one another when we are in fellowship with other Christians.  

Forgiveness / Reconciliation Read Matthew 5: 23 and 18:35.  Being in close fellowship with one another also means that we increase our vulnerability to getting hurt.  Without forgiveness, we give power to the resentment and distrust built up in our hearts to destroy our faith, our relationship, and our fellowship. 

In the next Bible study in the series we go into greater depth on the topic of Fellowship, 

Read Hebrews 5: 7 - 10

the reFoundation series overview

Study #8 The Fellowship

• The body of Christ

• Love one another

• Obstacle to maturing the church

Next Study