Grow. Pray. Study. Daily Guide from the United Methodist Church
of the Resurrection - Saturday, 4 January 2014 – "Who will separate us
from Christ's love?"
Daily Scripture: Romans 8: God’s Love in
Christ Jesus
31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us,
who is against us? 32 He who did not withhold his
own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us
everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge
against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who
is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the
right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.[a] 35 Who
will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?36 As
it is written,
“For your sake we are
being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him
who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to
come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor
anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Footnotes:
a. Romans 8:34 Or Is
it Christ Jesus . . . for us?
Reflection Question:
The apostle Paul sent the Romans quite a list of challenges:
"trouble, or distress, or harassment, or famine, or nakedness, or danger,
or sword." He'd faced all of these and more (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:23-27),
but he was not complaining. He wrote the list to say, "In all these things
we win a sweeping victory through the one who loved us" (verse 37). No
matter what life throws at us, we, too, can march with Paul and a long line of
believers in God's eternal victory parade.
Paul asked two compelling questions: "If God is for us, who
is against us?" and "Who will separate us from Christ's love?"
He phrased both in a way that assumed the answer was "Nobody and
nothing!" Has your life so far pretty much worked out the way you'd hoped,
or have you had significant hurdles and pain to overcome? What circumstances or
events are most likely to leave you feeling separated from God's love? What
spiritual "anchors" keep you connected to God's love and the hope and
peace God offers, even when times get difficult?
Family Activity:
In 2014, what will your family faith journey look like? At
Resurrection, "The Journey" is our name for how we become deeply
committed Christians. It involves knowing, loving, and serving God and others.
Gather your family with a 2014 calendar. Brainstorm ways you can grow deeper in
your faith through knowing, loving, and serving. (Some ideas for knowing are
reading the Bible or joining a study or small group. For loving, commit to
regular worship and prayer. Serving includes helping others in your neighborhood
and in other countries.) Choose one aspect of "The Journey" to focus
on each month, write it on the calendar, and name specific ways your family
will be involved. Ask God to guide you this year.
Today's Prayer:
All powerful God, whatever comes my way, hold me close in the
shelter of your love. Thank you that, through you, I can win a sweeping victory
in "all these things." Amen.
Saturday, 4 January 2014 – Insight from Brent Messick
Brent Messick is Resurrection’s Managing Executive Director of
Operations.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God. How do we know
this? In this Scripture passage, Paul presents three convincing arguments for
God’s love. First, he talks about the sacrifice of Jesus. Paul says that if God
did not spare his one and only Son for us, then that should convince us that He
loves us enough to supply all of our needs. Surely we can trust a love like
that for anything.
Then Paul asks: if God has forgiven our sins, then who can
condemn us? You might think Jesus will come to judge us. In Revelation 5, we
read that Jesus has earned the right to judge us through his death on the
cross. But Paul is saying that Jesus is our advocate. He sits at the right hand
of God to plead our case. Paul sees Jesus not as the judge, but as the lover of
people.
Finally, Paul challenges us to think of every terrifying thing
we could possibly experience in this world. He mentions such things as
persecution, hunger, threat of death, angelic powers, fear of tomorrow, and the
powers of hell. But the love of God is so strong that not one of these things
is able to separate us from His love, which is in Jesus Christ, our Lord. With
that assurance, what do we need to be afraid of?
This assurance gives me hope and great peace of mind. God knows
my warts, my scars, and my weaknesses. Yet despite these shortcomings, I
believe that God will not abandon me. And I will do my part to strive to live a
life worthy of His love, His grace, and His generosity. Amen.
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United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, KS 66224 United States
(913)897-0120
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