Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Tuesday, 27 May 2014 "Don't be afraid"

Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Tuesday, 27 May 2014 "Don't be afraid"
Daily Scripture:  Matthew 17:7 Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid.” 8 Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone. 9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”
10 His disciples asked him, saying, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
11 Jesus answered them, “Elijah indeed comes first, and will restore all things, 12 but I tell you that Elijah has come already, and they didn’t recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted to. Even so the Son of Man will also suffer by them.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of John the Baptizer.
Reflection Questions:
"Don't be afraid," Jesus said to his disciples. They'd just seen him talking to Moses and Elijah, and heard God's voice—and unusual events like that can trigger fear. Then Jesus told them that what had happened to John the Baptist (John had been executed—cf. Matthew 14:1-12) would happen to him, too. "Don't be afraid" was as much a preface to that frightening statement as it was comfort after the supernatural event on the mountain.
Most Jews expected the Messiah to be a powerful, conquering figure. Scholar William Barclay noted, "In the century previous to the Crucifixion no fewer than 200,000 Jews lost their lives in futile rebellions." When Jesus told the disciples that the authorities would mistreat and kill him, like John, nothing in them easily accepted that. Could it be that this teaching was one main reason God's voice said, "Listen to him"? What is one teaching of Jesus you need to listen to because it challenges our world's "wisdom"?
The paradox of this scene is that Moses, Elijah, a flash of light, and God's voice looked like greatness to human eyes. But in God's purpose, this was just a preparation for the cross, the deepest revelation of God's glory (cf. John 12:20-33). What aspect of your church better shows God's glory—large attendance, or efforts to live out God's love to the poor and outcast? In what ways do you define and pursue glory in your personal life?
Today's Prayer:
Dear God, your glory showed itself in Jesus' self-giving life. Help me to set aside the natural human desire for trophies and titles, and to live more as Jesus did. Amen.
Insight from Brandon Gregory
Brandon Gregory is a volunteer for the worship and missions teams at Church of the Resurrection. He helps lead worship at the Vibe, West, and Downtown services, and is involved with the Malawi missions team at home.
Peter, James, and John had traveled with Jesus for three years, taking it on faith that he was the son of God. They had seen some amazing miracles and heard some equally amazing teaching. There was no doubt about it; Jesus was certainly much more than any teacher or prophet before him.
But all of their faith was about to be rocked, rattled, and rearranged. The man they had given their lives to follow would in a few short days be given over to the authorities and put to death in the most horrible way imaginable. All of their hopes of ushering in a new kingdom, all the dreams they had dreamed of escaping from Roman rule, everything they thought they had worked for would be tossed aside.
Jesus showed them a sign that was outright frightening to them. Jesus had to pick them up off of the ground and tell them not to be afraid. Seeing God as clearly as they had seen him would be a powerful experience—frightening, yes, but also reassuring: this was the undeniable truth they had been longing for. Jesus’ words in verse 9 confirm that this sign was not meant to convince the masses—it was for the people on that mountain with him. Jesus had chosen them not because their faith was weak, but because their faith was strong; and because their faith was strong, it would be up to them to struggle through a crisis of faith they could not have anticipated. God didn’t show this to them to gain their faith, because He already had it; God showed this to them to boost their faith and prepare them for the tough time ahead.
In my own life, I know Christians that have never gone through a period of doubt, and that’s an amazing claim. I also know many Christians that go through periods of very real doubt. Most of them make it through this period and their faith is stronger because of it. And, you know what? I envy both of them.
For me, doubt isn’t a far-off concept or a period that I will go through once and emerge victorious—doubt is something I struggle with daily. For me, choosing faith means dealing with the possibility that I could be wrong, and that’s a choice I have to make every day. There are days when it’s harder or easier, sure, but it’s always there, at least in the back of my mind, reminding me that, with faith, certainty will always be just beyond my grasp.
And then, as if that wasn’t enough, I also go through times when it’s a lot tougher to live out my faith. Sure, it’s easy when I’m really enjoying the church services, when my job is going great, when my family is happy, when my friends are well; but there are times when it would be extremely convenient to put my faith aside for a time, or when I see a real need that would require a financial commitment from me, or when everything seems to be crashing down and I have no control over what’s going on in my life.
Last fall, I was going through a period of greater doubt, wondering if God was really watching out for all of us, if He really cared about our day-to-day lives. With millions of people starving, or dying in wars, or being sold into slavery, my own needs seemed insignificant and petty. In the midst of all this, I was invited to help lead worship at a regional women’s conference.
At the conference, we decided to use one of the speaker’s sessions to practice our next worship set in the dorm common room. We were having a great time, singing and worshipping as well as laughing and talking. As we were practicing, I noticed one of the doors to a room was open. It was the door right next to where we were playing. I thought about shutting it, but then I saw a woman walk out of it. She went to the kitchen to get something, then disappeared back into the room. We finished our practice session and I didn’t think much of it until I bumped into the woman as I was leaving the dorm.
“Looks like you got your own private concert,” I said to her.
Her face lit up. “My daughter came down with a stomach bug today and couldn’t make the session tonight. We both love the worship music. You have no idea what a blessing it was to hear that tonight.”
We talked for a bit. Their group was from a church in a very small town. They had no worship band. Having a live band play worship music for them, something I take for granted, was a huge treat, and one that they had been very sad to miss out on.
So there I was, wondering if God took notice of our day-to-day concerns, and He had orchestrated a private worship concert for a sick girl who very much needed it. This was eerily similar to the answer I had been longing for. It sounds silly, but that small event struck a chord with me. It ended up bolstering my faith.
The next few months after that were very trying and tiring, as I found myself spending up to 60 hours a week in the office. But when I found my life draining and my faith tiresome, I could look back on a chance encounter with a sick girl at a women’s conference in Junction City, Kansas and remember that God was there for me as much as He was her.
The point of all that is that God usually gives us the tools we need for the trials to come, times of doubt included. It’s important to look for God in those chance encounters, but it’s just as important to remember the times we’ve seen God when the going gets tough. Sometimes, it’s those small signs that can keep us going through some of the hardest times in our lives. Just remember, you are not alone, and you are not forgotten.
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