God’s Grace and the Authority of the Disciple

Lent - 2022

Published on 3 March 2022

For almost 2 years some volunteers of the Presbyterian Church of Mauritius who attended the Libérer ! seminars have committed themselves in a ministry of prayers. Every week we have prayed on the WhatsApp group Libérer EPM (#letuspraytogether).

This year, on the occasion of Lent 2022 the team of Libérer ! Mauritius would like to invite you on a 7 week-journey of biblical meditations until Easter to discover or rediscover the foundations of our ministry of spiritual care.

Like Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus who chose the good part sitting at the Lord’s feet before attending to her business (Luke 10), we pray that this quiet time will offer our community an opportunity to recharge our batteries in the company of our Savior to face the challenges of life with more serenity.

God’s grace, in other words, the Lord’s free and unconditional love, is very important for the Reformed churches which our church is a part of. What can it bring me in everyday life to know that God loves me unconditionally?

Some believers sometimes feel compelled to make sacrifices or always do more, because they think they must deserve God’s love. But as in the story where Martha and Mary receive the Messiah in their homes, Jesus calls us to come and find rest and strength with him. But sometimes even after these times of comtemplation we may still not be ok…

Do you know that Jesus has the power to set us free from burdens that are “stronger than us”: addictions, curses, diseases, toxic relationships, thoughts or habits that poison our lives?

This is the Good News that the Libérer ! Ministry would like to spread and let you experience concretely. In the verse of the day Peter meets a paralytic who was begging. He expected to receive money but Peter gave him more than he hoped for... If God allowed Peter to heal this handicapped man in the name of Jesus for free, he now wants you to know that he has the will and the power to deliver you from your sufferings for free.

This verse also reveals a reality which Christians themselves are often unaware of, a reality that the Enemy of God wants to keep secret for our greatest misfortune. This reality is the authority of every disciple of Jesus ! Through this verse the Lord wants us to understand that as with Peter, Christ wants to share with us this incredible ability to go beyond our own sufferings and take a weight off our neighbor’s shoulders. So what will you do with this revelation?

#letuspraytogether Eternal Father thank you for loving us for free, despite our weaknesses and mistakes. Because you love us you also want to put an end to our sufferings, to deliver us in the name of Jesus. Thank you that through the Ministry Libérer ! you have already made unexpected healings and deliverance throughout the world and in Mauritius.
 
Like the paralytic in this week’s verse, you want to heal us far beyond our expectations. So increase our faith and enable us through your Holy Spirit to discern where to begin. May we see and experience the fruits of these times we want to set apart to find you during these 7 weeks that take us to Easter.
 
Now strengthened and grounded in the confidence of your love which acts discreetly we look up to turn our eyes to our world.
 
We bless you for the communion in prayer with other brothers and sisters in Christ. Please give us a deep sense of creative community as you show us how take care of each other, especially the most vulnerable.
 
Lord, in this time of uncertainty, when an invisible virus continues to prevent us from living comfortably, when missiles explode in the world, we ask you to send your Holy Spirit into the hearts of those who are caught in the web of violence – as perpetrators or victims. Convert our hearts so that we may be men and women who bring your peace to the world.
 
To follow You, we must go beyond our ego and place at the foot of your cross our self-love, our clumsiness, our mistakes, our pains, our everyday life. Teach us to manage our lives, without trampling on the lives of others or making them suffer.
 
Finally, Lord, help us to rely on you alone when everything is going wrong in us and around us. You alone is our strength, our support, our refuge, our victory and our glory in Jesus. Amen