Today please be in prayer for:
Brownville UMC
Julian UMC
Nemaha UMC
Missouri River District
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Atchison UMC
Topeka District
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6th Sunday after Pentecost/in Kingdomtide – Green
Genesis 28:10-19a
Psalm 139:1-12, 23-242
Romans 8:12-25
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Genesis 28:10-12 Jacob left Beersheba and went to Haran. He came to a certain place and camped for the night since the sun had set. He took one of the stones there, set it under his head and lay down to sleep. And he dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground and it reached all the way to the sky; angels of God were going up and going down on it.
13-15 Then God was right before him, saying, “I am God, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. I’m giving the ground on which you are sleeping to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be as the dust of the Earth; they’ll stretch from west to east and from north to south. All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I’ll stay with you, I’ll protect you wherever you go, and I’ll bring you back to this very ground. I’ll stick with you until I’ve done everything I promised you.”
16-17 Jacob woke up from his sleep. He said, “God is in this place—truly. And I didn’t even know it!” He was terrified. He whispered in awe, “Incredible. Wonderful. Holy. This is God’s House. This is the Gate of Heaven.”
18-19 Jacob was up first thing in the morning. He took the stone he had used for his pillow and stood it up as a memorial pillar and poured oil over it. He christened the place Bethel (God’s House). The name of the town had been Luz until then.
Psalm 139: A David Psalm
1-6 God, investigate my life;
get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
then up ahead and you’re there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can’t take it all in!
7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.
23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
then guide me on the road to eternal life.
Romans 8: 12-14 So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!
15-17 This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!
18-21 That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.
22-25 All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.
Matthew 13: 24-26 He told another story. “God’s kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too.
27 “The farmhands came to the farmer and said, ‘Master, that was clean seed you planted, wasn’t it? Where did these thistles come from?’
28 “He answered, ‘Some enemy did this.’
“The farmhands asked, ‘Should we weed out the thistles?’
29-30 “He said, ‘No, if you weed the thistles, you’ll pull up the wheat, too. Let them grow together until harvest time. Then I’ll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and tie them in bundles for the fire, then gather the wheat and put it in the barn.’”
The Curtain of History
36 Jesus dismissed the congregation and went into the house. His disciples came in and said, “Explain to us that story of the thistles in the field.”
37-39 So he explained. “The farmer who sows the pure seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the pure seeds are subjects of the kingdom, the thistles are subjects of the Devil, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, the curtain of history. The harvest hands are angels.
40-43 “The picture of thistles pulled up and burned is a scene from the final act. The Son of Man will send his angels, weed out the thistles from his kingdom, pitch them in the trash, and be done with them. They are going to complain to high heaven, but nobody is going to listen. At the same time, ripe, holy lives will mature and adorn the kingdom of their Father.
“Are you listening to this? Really listening?
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John Wesley’s Notes-commentary for:
Genesis 28:10-19a
Verse 11
[11] And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
The stones for his pillow, and the heavens for his canopy! Yet his comfort in the divine blessing, and his confidence in the divine protection, made him easy, even when he lay thus exposed: being sure that his God made him to dwell in safety, he could lie down and sleep upon a stone.
Verse 12
[12] And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
Behold a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached heaven, the angels ascending and descending on it, and the Lord stood above it — This might represent 1. The providence of God, by which there is a constant correspondence kept up between heaven and earth. The counsels of heaven are executed on earth, and the affairs of this earth are all known in heaven. Providence doth his work gradually and by steps; angels are employed as ministering spirits to serve all the designs of providence, and the wisdom of God is at the upper end of the ladder, directing all the motions of second causes to his glory. The angels are active spirits, continually ascending and descending; they rest not day nor night. They ascend to give account of what they have done, and to receive orders; and desend to execute the orders they have received. This vision gave seasonable comfort to Jacob, letting him know that he had both a good guide and good guard; that though he was to wander from his father's house, yet he was the care of Providence, and the charge of the holy angels. 2. The mediation of Christ. He is this ladder: the foot on earth in his human nature, the top in heaven in his divine nature; or the former is his humiliation, the latter is his exaltation. All the intercourse between heaven and earth since the fall is by this ladder. Christ is the way: all God's favours come to us, and all our services come to him, by Christ. If God dwell with us, and we with him, it is by Christ: we have no way of getting to heaven but by this ladder; for the kind offices the angels do us, are all owing to Christ, who hath reconciled things on earth and things in heaven, Colossians 1:20.
Verse 14
[14] And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed — Christ is the great blessing of the world: all that are blessed, whatever family they are of, are blessed in him, and none of any family are excluded from blessedness in him, but those that exclude themselves.
Verse 15
[15] And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
Behold I am with thee — Wherever we are, we are safe, if we have God's favourable presence with us. He knew not, but God foresaw what hardships he would meet with in his uncle's service, and therefore promiseth to preserve him in all places. God knows how to give his people graces and comforts accommodated to the events that shall be, as well as to those that are. He was now going as an exile into a place far distant, but God promiseth him to bring him again to this land. He seemed to be forsaken of all his friends, but God gives him this assurance, I will not leave thee.
Verse 16
[16] And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.
Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not — God's manifestations of himself to his people carry their own evidence along with them. God can give undeniable demonstrations of his presence, such as give abundant satisfaction to the souls of the faithful, that God is with them of a truth; satisfaction not communicable to others, but convincing to themselves. We sometimes meet with God there, where we little thought of meeting with him. He is there where we did not think he had been, is found there where we asked not for him.
Verse 17
[17] And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
He was afraid — So far was he from being puffed up. The more we see of God, the more cause we see for holy trembling and blushing before him. Those whom God is pleased to manifest himself to, are laid and kept very low in their own eyes, and see cause to fear even the Lord and his goodness, Hosea 3:5.
And said, How dreadful is this place! — That is, the appearance of God in this place is to be thought of, but with a holy awe and reverence; I shall have a respect for this place, and remember it by this token as long as I live. Not that he thought the place itself any nearer the divine visions than any other places; but what he saw there at this time was, as it were, the house of God, the residence of the Divine Majesty, and the gate of heaven, that is, the general rendezvous of the inhabitants of the upper world; as the meetings of a city were in their gates; or, the angels ascending and descending were like travellers passing and repassing through the gates of a city.
Verse 18
[18] And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
He set up the stone for a pillar — To mark the place again, if he came back, and erect a lasting monument of God's favour to him: and because he had not time now to build an altar here, as Abraham did in the places where God appeared to him, Genesis 12:7, he therefore poured oil on the top of this stone, which probably was the ceremony then used in dedicating their altars, as an earnest of his building an altar when he should have conveniencies for it, as afterwards he did, in gratitude to God, Genesis 35:7. Grants of mercy call for our returns of duty and the sweet communion we have with God ought ever to be remembered.
Verse 19
[19] And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
It had been called Luz, an almond-tree, but he will have it henceforth called Beth-el, the house of God. This gracious appearance of God to him made it more remarkable than all the almond-trees that flourished there.
Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24
Verse 2
[2] Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
Afar off — Thou knowest what my thoughts will be in such and such circumstances, long before I know it, yea from all eternity.
Verse 3
[3] Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
Compassest — Thou discernest every step I take. It is a metaphor from soldiers besieging their enemies, and setting watches round about them.
Verse 5
[5] Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
Beset me — With thy all-seeing providence.
And laid — Thou keepest me, as it were with a strong hand, in thy sight and under thy power.
Verse 6
[6] Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
I cannot — Apprehend in what manner thou dost so presently know all things.
Verse 8
[8] If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
Hell — If I could hide myself in the lowest parts of the earth.
Verse 9
[9] If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
The wings — If I should flee from east to west: for the sea being the western border of Canaan, is often put for the west in scripture. And wings are poetically ascribed to the morning here, as they are elsewhere to the sun, and to the winds.
Romans 8:12-25
Verse 12
[12] Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
We are not debtors to the flesh — We ought not to follow it.
Verse 13
[13] For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
The deeds of the flesh — Not only evil actions, but evil desires, tempers, thoughts.
If ye mortify — Kill, destroy these.
Ye shall live — The life of faith more abundantly here, and hereafter the life of glory.
Verse 14
[14] For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God — In all the ways of righteousness.
They are the sons of God — Here St. Paul enters upon the description of those blessings which he comprises, Romans 8:30, in the word glorified; though, indeed, he does not describe mere glory, but that which is still mingled with the cross. The sum is, through sufferings to glory.
Verse 15
[15] For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
For ye — Who are real Christians.
Have not received the spirit of bondage — The Holy Ghost was not properly a spirit of bondage, even in the time of the Old Testament. Yet there was something of bondage remaining even in those who then had received the Spirit.
Again — As the Jews did before.
We — All and every believer.
Cry — The word denotes a vehement speaking, with desire, confidence, constancy.
Abba, Father — The latter word explains the former. By using both the Syriac and the Greek word, St. Paul seems to point out the joint cry both of the Jewish and gentile believers. The spirit of bondage here seems directly to mean, those operations of the Holy Spirit by which the soul, on its first conviction, feels itself in bondage to sin, to the world, to Satan, and obnoxious to the wrath of God. This, therefore, and the Spirit of adoption, are one and the same Spirit, only manifesting itself in various operations, according to the various circumstances of the persons.
Verse 16
[16] The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
The same Spirit beareth witness with our spirit — With the spirit of every true believer, by a testimony distinct from that of his own spirit, or the testimony of a good conscience. Happy they who enjoy this clear and constant.
Verse 17
[17] And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Joint heirs — That we may know it is a great inheritance which God will give us for he hath given a great one to his Son.
If we suffer with him — Willingly and cheerfully, for righteousness' sake. This is a new proposition, referring to what follows.
Verse 18
[18] For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
For I reckon — This verse gives the reason why he but now mentioned sufferings and glory. When that glory "shall be revealed in us," then the sons of God will be revealed also.
Verse 19
[19] For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
For the earnest expectation — The word denotes a lively hope of something drawing near, and a vehement longing after it.
Of the creation — Of all visible creatures, believers excepted, who are spoken of apart; each kind, according as it is capable. All these have been sufferers through sin; and to all these (the finally impenitent excepted) shall refreshment redound from the glory of the children of God. Upright heathens are by no means to be excluded from this earnest expectation: nay, perhaps something of it may at some times be found even in the vainest of men; who (although in the hurry of life they mistake vanity for liberty, and partly stifle. partly dissemble, their groans, yet) in their sober, quiet, sleepless, afflicted hours, pour forth many sighs in the ear of God.
Verse 20
[20] For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
The creation was made subject to vanity — Abuse, misery, and corruption.
By him who subjected it — Namely, God, Genesis 3:17; 5:29. Adam only made it liable to the sentence which God pronounced; yet not without hope.
Verse 21
[21] Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
The creation itself shall be delivered — Destruction is not deliverance: therefore whatsoever is destroyed, or ceases to be, is not delivered at all. Will, then, any part of the creation be destroyed? Into the glorious liberty - The excellent state wherein they were created.
Verse 22
[22] For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
For the whole creation groaneth together — With joint groans, as it were with one voice.
And travaileth — Literally, is in the pains of childbirth, to be delivered of the burden of the curse.
Until now — To this very hour; and so on till the time of deliverance.
Verse 23
[23] And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
And even we, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit — That is, the Spirit, who is the first-fruits of our inheritance.
The adoption — Persons who had been privately adopted among the Romans were often brought forth into the forum, and there publicly owned as their sons by those who adopted them. So at the general resurrection, when the body itself is redeemed from death, the sons of God shall be publicly owned by him in the great assembly of men and angels.
The redemption of our body — From corruption to glory and immortality.
Verse 24
[24] For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
For we are saved by hope — Our salvation is now only in hope. We do not yet possess this full salvation.
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Verse 24
[24] Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
He proposed another parable — in which he farther explains the case of unfruitful hearers. The kingdom of heaven (as has been observed before) sometimes signifies eternal glory: sometimes the way to it, inward religion; sometimes, as here, the Gospel dispensation: the phrase is likewise used for a person or thing relating to any one of those: so in this place it means, Christ preaching the Gospel, who is like a man sowing good seed - The expression, is like, both here and in several other places, only means, that the thing spoken of may be illustrated by the following similitude.
Who sowed good seed in his field — God sowed nothing but good in his whole creation. Christ sowed only the good seed of truth in his Church.
Verse 25
[25] But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
But while men slept — They ought to have watched: the Lord of the field sleepeth not.
His enemy came and sowed darnel — This is very like wheat, and commonly grows among wheat rather than among other grain: but tares or vetches are of the pulse kind, and bear no resemblance to wheat.
Verse 26
[26] But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
When the blade was sprung up, then appeared the darnel — It was not discerned before: it seldom appears, as soon as the good seed is sown: all at first appears to be peace, and love, and joy.
Verse 27
[27] So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
Didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? Whence then hath it darnel? — Not from the parent of good. Even the heathen could say, "No evil can from thee proceed: 'Tis only suffer'd, not decreed: As darkness is not from the sun, Nor mount the shades, till he is gone."
Verse 28
[28] He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
He said, An enemy hath done this — A plain answer to the great question concerning the origin of evil. God made men (as he did angels) intelligent creatures, and consequently free either to choose good or evil: but he implanted no evil in the human soul: An enemy (with man's concurrence) hath done this. Darnel, in the Church, is properly outside Christians, such as have the form of godliness, without the power. Open sinners, such as have neither the form nor the power, are not so properly darnel, as thistles and brambles: these ought to be rooted up without delay, and not suffered in the Christian community. Whereas should fallible men attempt to gather up the darnel, they would often root up the wheat with them.
Verse 38
[38] The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
The good seed are the children of the kingdom — That is, the children of God, the righteous.
Verse 41
[41] The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
They shall gather all things that offend — Whatever had hindered or grieved the children of God; whatever things or persons had hindered the good seed which Christ had sown from taking root or bearing fruit. The Greek word is, All scandals.
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Today’s Devotion:
Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Connecting but Not Communicating" for Friday, 25 July 2014 - Read Psalm 145:17 Everything God does is right—
the trademark on all his works is love.
18 God’s there, listening for all who pray,
for all who pray and mean it.
19 He does what’s best for those who fear him—
hears them call out, and saves them.
Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.(1 Chronicles 16:11 (NIV))
“It’s good to hear your voice, Kathleen,” my friend said. “I’m so glad you took the time to call me.” That simple statement made me realize that too often I use fingertip technology, and not meaningful conversation, to stay in touch with family and friends. Facebook, e-mails, and texting allow me to post photos or send short blasts of information to people I care about but don’t see very often. We may be staying connected, but I’m not sure we’re really communicating. This experience made me wonder how well I’m staying in touch with God. Busy with chores and responsibilities, I try to remember to thank or praise God when particular blessings come during the day. But often I feel that even though I’m connected to God I’m not really communicating because I’m not setting aside the quiet prayer time that keeps me mindful of God’s word in my life. Prayer is our direct line to God who longs to hear our voices. Technology has its place in connecting us to others, but we need real conversation to strengthen and maintain any relationship — especially with God.
The Author: Kathleen Armentano (North Carolina, USA)
Thought for the Day: How much time do I spend talking and listening to God?
Prayer: Dear God, slow us down so that finding prayer time with you becomes a priority. Keep us focused so that our conversation builds a stronger relationship with you. Amen.
Prayer focus: Someone who needs to hear my voice
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Contact Information:
Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church
9440 E Boston, Suite 160
Wichita KS 67207
316-686-0600
800-745-2350
info@greatplainsumc.org
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