Daily Scripture: Deuteronomy 10:16 So circumcise your hearts[a] and stop being so stubborn, 17 because the Lord your God is the God of all gods and Lord of all lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God who doesn’t play favorites and doesn’t take bribes. 18 He enacts justice for orphans and widows, and he loves immigrants, giving them food and clothing. 19 That means you must also love immigrants because you were immigrants in Egypt. 20 Revere the Lord your God, serve him, cling to him, swear by his name alone![Footnotes:
Deuteronomy 10:16 Or the foreskin of your hearts; cf 30:6]
Psalm 68:4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name!
Exalt the one who rides the clouds!
The Lord is his name.
Celebrate before him!
5 Father of orphans and defender of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6 God settles the lonely in their homes;
he sets prisoners free with happiness,[a]
but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7 When you went forth before your people, God,
when you marched through the wasteland, Selah
8 the earth shook!
Yes, heaven poured down
before God, the one from Sinai—
before God, the God of Israel!
9 You showered down abundant rain, God;
when your inheritance grew weary,
you restored it yourself,
10 and your creatures settled in it.
In your goodness, God,
you provided for the poor.[Footnotes:
Psalm 68:6 Or skillfully; LXX, Vulg with strength; Heb uncertain]
Reflection Questions:In Old Testament times, nearly all legal and financial status depended on a connection to a living male relative. "Orphans and widows" had no such connection. The phrase became a shorthand expression for all powerless or oppressed people. Israel's faith said God cared in a specific, practical way about the treatment of the poor and the weak. A God of justice demanded fairness and support for widows and orphans.
Pastor Hamilton's message yesterday reported on what he sees in Malawi as a result of Resurrection's support of ministries to help the people of one of the poorest countries in Africa. (To learn more about those ministries, go to www.cor.org/malawi.) What insight do today's readings give you into why we believe God calls us to care about poor people who live half a world away from us?
Part of our faith heritage as Methodists is the belief that we are God's voice, God's hands and feet, in a hurting world. In what ways can you join in God's work of blessing orphans, widows, the lonely and prisoners? Do you know anyone who may not be an "orphan" or "widow" in the concrete sense of the term, but who you could bless by extending God's love and care into their life?
Today's Prayer:
O God, give me eyes to see when other people I meet are hurting. Give me a heart to support, and join in when possible, your work to love and care for people I may never meet. Amen.
Our GPS Insights blog shares reflections each day from our pastors, staff and congregants.
Read today's reflection from Melanie Hill online. Melanie is the Guest Connections Program Director at Resurrection.Insight from Melanie Hill
Melanie Hill is the Guest Connections Program Director at Resurrection.
Over the fourteen years that I had the privilege of working with students I have led many trips to different countries around the world. There is something unique and quite wonderful about serving on a mission trip with students.
The first thing you learn about them is that they are far more capable than most adults give them credit for.
The second thing is that when God breaks a student’s heart for his children who are suffering there is a purity to it. Students aren’t bogged down with all the justifications, politics and complexities that many adults are. They tend to see the world in terms of black and white and wrong and right. So when they see injustice and suffering it affects them deeply and profoundly. I remember talking with one student after a long day of building a road for an orphanage in Guatemala. He asked me why he didn’t feel as deeply for people who are suffering and in need in his own country as he did for the children who had been orphaned in Guatemala. I thought it was a great insight and something I too struggle with. It isn’t really that I don’t care as much about the poor and suffering in the U.S. but that I am often too comfortable at home to really be bothered with caring. There are too many “other” things to take up my attention.
Ask anyone who has been on a mission trip what one of the most meaningful things about the trip was and they will tell you that being unplugged and having the time to experience God and hear His voice changed their life. Suffering doesn’t change, and our response to it shouldn’t either. After all God cares for all his children. The difference comes from how we are filling our time and what things we allow to stop us from noticing someone else’s suffering. When you are sleeping in a makeshift dorm with a tin roof multiplying the sound of the rain falling down after an exhausting day of work there isn’t the distraction of social media, favorite TV shows, acomfortable bed or even a warm shower. All the things that drown out the voice of God in our lives are suddenly gone. Do I recommend taking a serve trip? Absolutely and if possible, take one with students. You will be amazed.
For many of us the expense and time of taking a trip to Africa or Haiti or Guatemala just isn’t in the cards right now. That’s okay. There are plenty of ways God wants to use you right here and now. This weekend our church is hosting a serving opportunity on Valentine’s Day called Share Your Heart. What an amazing way to celebrate a day devoted to love! You can register here for a time to serve. And maybe I’ll see you there. Over the past few weeks I have been giving into the “other” things in my life and coming up with reason after reason to not be able to make it this time. Enough. I will be there Saturday afternoon, four kids in tow, putting care packages together because I CAN do that. What can you do?
Over the fourteen years that I had the privilege of working with students I have led many trips to different countries around the world. There is something unique and quite wonderful about serving on a mission trip with students.
The first thing you learn about them is that they are far more capable than most adults give them credit for.
The second thing is that when God breaks a student’s heart for his children who are suffering there is a purity to it. Students aren’t bogged down with all the justifications, politics and complexities that many adults are. They tend to see the world in terms of black and white and wrong and right. So when they see injustice and suffering it affects them deeply and profoundly. I remember talking with one student after a long day of building a road for an orphanage in Guatemala. He asked me why he didn’t feel as deeply for people who are suffering and in need in his own country as he did for the children who had been orphaned in Guatemala. I thought it was a great insight and something I too struggle with. It isn’t really that I don’t care as much about the poor and suffering in the U.S. but that I am often too comfortable at home to really be bothered with caring. There are too many “other” things to take up my attention.
Ask anyone who has been on a mission trip what one of the most meaningful things about the trip was and they will tell you that being unplugged and having the time to experience God and hear His voice changed their life. Suffering doesn’t change, and our response to it shouldn’t either. After all God cares for all his children. The difference comes from how we are filling our time and what things we allow to stop us from noticing someone else’s suffering. When you are sleeping in a makeshift dorm with a tin roof multiplying the sound of the rain falling down after an exhausting day of work there isn’t the distraction of social media, favorite TV shows, acomfortable bed or even a warm shower. All the things that drown out the voice of God in our lives are suddenly gone. Do I recommend taking a serve trip? Absolutely and if possible, take one with students. You will be amazed.
For many of us the expense and time of taking a trip to Africa or Haiti or Guatemala just isn’t in the cards right now. That’s okay. There are plenty of ways God wants to use you right here and now. This weekend our church is hosting a serving opportunity on Valentine’s Day called Share Your Heart. What an amazing way to celebrate a day devoted to love! You can register here for a time to serve. And maybe I’ll see you there. Over the past few weeks I have been giving into the “other” things in my life and coming up with reason after reason to not be able to make it this time. Enough. I will be there Saturday afternoon, four kids in tow, putting care packages together because I CAN do that. What can you do?
Church of the Resurrection
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
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