Missionary Renegade: Upper Room Daily Reflections from The Upper Room Ministries of Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Being Saved = Just the Beginning" for Sunday, 10 May 2015

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Upper Room Daily Reflections from The Upper Room Ministries of Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Being Saved = Just the Beginning" for Sunday, 10 May 2015

Upper Room Daily Reflections from The Upper Room Ministries of Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Being Saved = Just the Beginning" for Sunday, 10 May 2015

Today's Reflection:

PRAYING THE SINNER’S PRAYER is not the end goal of the Christian life. Praying one prayer, or having one experience of God’s grace, is not the fullness of what God hopes for us. Please don’t misunderstand me: having an initial experience of God’s grace by faith is absolutely essential, but it does not represent the entirety of the Christian life. When we talk about “getting saved,” we sound a lot like a naive couple on their honeymoon who think they have experienced the fullness of marriage. They will soon realize that getting married is just the beginning of marriage, not the end. Similarly, receiving forgiveness of our sins and being born again do make us Christians. … There is a real change, but it is just the beginning of an entirely new way of life.[Kevin M. Watson , A Blueprint for Discipleship]
From pages 29-30 of A Blueprint for Discipleship: Wesley’s General Rules as a Guide for Christian Living by Kevin M. Watson. Copyright © 2009 by Discipleship Resources. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
What are you learning from Jesus?
Today’s Scripture:
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.[John 15:12, NRSV]
This Week: pray for parents of young adults returning home.

Upper Room Daily Reflections from The Upper Room Ministries of Nashville, Tennessee, United States "We Are Jesus’ Apprentices" for Saturday, 9 May 2015

Today's Reflection:

WE ARE NOT DISCIPLES of Jesus Christ because we have accumulated information about God, Jesus, or the Bible. … Following Jesus is not primarily a matter of knowledge and information. It is a specific way of living – a set of practices – through which we embody the gospel in our own lives as part of a community of people who have made the same commitment to walk in Jesus’ path.
A more accurate translation of the word disciple might be “apprentice.” An apprentice is also a learner, and apprenticeship suggests we learn by doing. A novice is apprenticed to a master worker and learns by conversation, observation, and – most important of all – by working alongside someone with a set of skills the novice wishes to learn and adopt.[Thomas R. Hawkins, Apprenticed to Jesus]
From page 41 of Apprenticed to Jesus: Discipleship Practices for Growing Christians by Thomas R. Hawkins. Copyright © 2013 by Discipleship Resources. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
What are you learning from Jesus?
Today’s Scripture:
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.[John 15:9, NRSV]
This Week: pray for parents of young adults returning home.

Upper Room Daily Reflections from The Upper Room Ministries of Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Fear of Failure" for Friday, 8 May 2015

Today's Reflection:

ONE OF THE GREATEST DETERRENTS to becoming a disciple arises from the fear that we do not know enough to follow Jesus. Many are anxious about failing in their effort. A disciple, like every student, will certainly make mistakes and be forced to learn lessons a second or even a third time. There is no disgrace in failing, but not learning from our failures makes us look foolish. Jesus has amazing patience with slow learners.
You follow him also as an apprentice. In the trade language of a few centuries back, an apprentice attached him or herself to a master to learn a skill. Generally, the commitment was to learn the skill of the master – stonemason, carpenter, painter. This apprentice relationship to Jesus has the same aim, to learn how to do what Jesus did. You know already that this has something to do with creating a relationship with God, healing the sick, liberating the poor, and seeking justice for the oppressed.[Ben Campbell Johnson, A Seeker’s Guide to Christian Faith]
From pages 36-37 of A Seeker’s Guide to Christian Faith by Ben Campbell Johnson. Copyright © 2000 by Ben Campbell Johnson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
What hinders you most from learning from Jesus?
Today’s Scripture:
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child.[1 John 5:1, NRSV]
This Week: pray for parents of young adults returning home.

Upper Room Daily Reflections from The Upper Room Ministries of Nashville, Tennessee, United States "A Prayer for Mercy" for Thursday, 7 May 2015

Today's Reflection:
O GOD, Creator and Redeemer,
I bring before you this world you so lovingly made.
Forgive us for the ways we have turned our backs
on you and on one another.
Have mercy on us, O Lord. Have mercy on us.[Mary Lou Redding, Prayers for Life’s Ordinary and Extraordinary Moments]
From “Prayer for a Hurting World,” page 42 in Prayers for Life’s Ordinary and Extraordinary Moments, compiled and edited by Mary Lou Redding. Copyright © 2012 by Upper Room Books. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Pray today’s prayer. O GOD, Creator and Redeemer,
I bring before you this world you so lovingly made.
Forgive us for the ways we have turned our backs
on you and on one another.
Have mercy on us, O Lord. Have mercy on us. Amen!
Today’s Scripture:
Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.[Psalm 98:5, NRSV]
This Week: pray for parents of young adults returning home.

Upper Room Daily Reflections from The Upper Room Ministries of Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Worrywart" for Wednesday, 6 May 2015

Today's Reflection:

I MUST ADMIT that I am a worrywart. I worry about the big test coming up or how my school pictures will turn out. I worry about how I’ll perform in a concert or a basketball game. I worry a lot about passing the test for my driver’s license. And just thinking about going to college or getting a job sends me into a cold sweat.
It helps to remember that I can take my worries to God and that God will give me the strength and wisdom to handle them. Scripture reminds me that I shouldn’t lose sleep over my uncertainties and fears because God cares for me.
God will lead me through all the obstacles life throws my way. Of course, I still have to study for the test and practice for the concert, but I’m learning that agonizing over them won’t help. So the next time I start fretting about the big game or a crucial decision, I’ll say a prayer and let God take over.[Evan Hall, age 17, Stepping Out on Your Own]
From Stepping Out on Your Own: Devotions for High School Graduates, introduced and compiled by Kara Lassen Oliver. Copyright © 2010 by Upper Room Books. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Note: This devotion was originally published in devozine, the magazine for teens by teens, © Copyright The Upper Room. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
What are ways that you can let go of worry and let God take over?
Today’s Scripture:
O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.{Psalm 98:1, NRSV}

This Week: pray for parents of young adults returning home.

Upper Room Daily Reflections from The Upper Room Ministries of Nashville, Tennessee, United States "True Identity" for Tuesday, 5 May 2015

Today's Reflection:

I knew I was different than most people my age; but since I was home-schooled, it wasn’t a big deal during my high school year. Then at the age of eighteen, I moved across country for a six-month job. Immediately, my differences became obvious, even painful. …
In the midst of my loneliness, God began to speak to me, gently reminding me that I was created as a unique individual and, like each one of us, was not designed to fit into an artificial mold. I needed to be myself.
At the same time God brought into my life a friend who was as culturally quirky as I was. We spent many hours talking and laughing together. My insecurities began to slip away as I reclaimed my identity as a child of God. …
Prayer: God, give me courage and boldness to be myself – the unique and amazing person you created me to be. Amen.[Rachel Starr Thompson,
Taking Flight: 60 Daily Devos]
From the devotion “True Identity” by Rachel Starr Thompson, page 11 in Taking Flight: 60 Daily Devos. Copyright © 2010 by Upper Room Books. This devotion originally appeared in devozine, a magazine for teens published by Upper Room Ministries. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Pray the prayer at the end of today’s excerpt. God, give me courage and boldness to be myself – the unique and amazing person you created me to be. Amen.
Today’s Scripture:
“Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”[Acts 10:47, NRSV]
This Week: pray for parents of young adults returning home.

Upper Room Daily Reflections from The Upper Room Ministries of Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Love and the Shame Bind" for Monday, 4 May 2015

Today's Reflection:

MY ADULT LIFE has been a pilgrimage through the entanglement of childhood trauma into wholeness, freedom gained by inches. But I was still in pain, heavy, black, and oppressive as pea-soup fog. I had just heard the term “self-compassion” and felt led to research it. God is always right on time, and the Spirit pointed the way out through an Internet search. There, like a flashing neon sign was the message: The source of self-rejection is shame.
Shame’s message is “you are not enough, you are unworthy.” Shame is at the heart of judgment and motivates us to hide behind perfectionism. It keeps us self-absorbed, easily offended, contentious, and overly driven. Shame skews healthy boundaries and drives our fear of saying “no.” I can now see that my people-pleasing is not really part of my inherent nature, but a shame-driven way to manipulate people into liking me so I might feel okay.
Regardless of the sources of shame messages, I now know that I can develop resilience to shame and open up to seeing myself the way God sees me – not as a jumble of defective parts, but as a whole person.
It is also imperative that I practice forgiveness – of myself for my inadequacies, of others when I feel disappointed. Ask for forgiveness when I make a mistake. Receive God’s forgiveness.
Having compassion for myself involves wading deeply into my astounding and confounding humanness, holding tenderly my imperfection and vulnerability. It is such a relief – and a real source of joy – to experience grace flowing more freely, nurturing the connections I want and deserve.[Alive Now, January/February 2015]
From “Love and the Shame Bind” by Gina Manskar, pages 30-31 of Alive Now, January/February 2015. Copyright © 2014 by The Upper Room. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Hold yourself tenderly during your devotional time and throughout the day.
Today’s Scripture:
While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word.[Acts 10:44, NRSV]
This Week: pray for parents of young adults returning home.
Did You Know?
In need of prayer? The Upper Room Living Prayer Center is a 7-day-a-week intercessory prayer ministry staffed by trained volunteers, call 1-800-251-2468 or visit The Living Prayer Center web site.
Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember: James the Less (May 3).
"James (first century), and apostle known as James the Less, the son of Alphaeus, may have been "the Lord's brother" (Galatians 1:19). He may also be the James who became the first bishop of Jerusalem and authored the epistle of James.

"This James would certainly qualify as a "lesser" disciple during Jesus' time. He must have quietly been formed and nurtured in the way of Jesus, for after the Resurrection he became one of the leaders of the growing church. James expressed his concern for the issues of the day in a letter. He warned against showing favor to the rich and upheld the link between faith and works, between hearing and doing the Word. He warned against loose tongues, boasting, and judging. James instructed Christians to pray and care for the suffering. His short letter, full of practical advice for being the church, bears reading again. James reminds us that though one may be quiet for a time, the call to leadership may come at any time."
[Quoted from Openings: A Daybook of Saints, Psalms, and Prayer by Larry James Peacock. Copyright © 2003 by Larry James Peacock. Used with permission. All Rights Reserved.]
If James had taken the Spiritual Types Test, he probably would have been a Prophet. St. James' feast day is May 3.
Image: St. James the Less by Angelo de' Rossi. Nave of the Basilica of St. John Lateran (Rome).
Lectionary Readings:
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Acts 10:44-48
Psalm 98
1 John 5:1-6
John 15:9-17
Lectiionary Texts:
Acts 10:44 Kefa was still saying these things when the Ruach HaKodesh fell on all who were hearing the message. 45 All the believers from the Circumcision faction who had accompanied Kefa were amazed that the gift of the Ruach HaKodesh was also being poured out 46 on the Goyim, for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Kefa’s response was, 47 “Is anyone prepared to prohibit these people from being immersed in water? After all, they have received the Ruach HaKodesh, just as we did.” 48 And he ordered that they be immersed in the name of Yeshua the Messiah. Then they asked Kefa to stay on with them for a few days.
Psalm 98: (0) A psalm:
(1) Sing a new song to Adonai,
because he has done wonders.
His right hand, his holy arm
have won him victory.
2 Adonai has made known his victory;
revealed his vindication in full view of the nations,
3 remembered his grace and faithfulness
to the house of Isra’el.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.
4 Shout for joy to Adonai, all the earth!
Break forth, sing for joy, sing praises!
5 Sing praises to Adonai with the lyre,
with the lyre and melodious music!
6 With trumpets and the sound of the shofar,
shout for joy before the king, Adonai!
7 Let the sea roar, and everything in it;
the world, and those living in it.
8 Let the floods clap their hands;
let the mountains sing together for joy
9 before Adonai, for he has come to judge the earth;
he will judge the world rightly and the peoples fairly.
1 John 5:1 Everyone who believes that Yeshua is the Messiah has God as his father, and everyone who loves a father loves his offspring too. 2 Here is how we know that we love God’s children: when we love God, we also do what he commands. 3 For loving God means obeying his commands. Moreover, his commands are not burdensome, 4 because everything which has God as its Father overcomes the world. And this is what victoriously overcomes the world: our trust. 5 Who does overcome the world if not the person who believes that Yeshua is the Son of God?
6 He is the one who came by means of water and blood, Yeshua the Messiah — not with water only, but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth.
John 15:9 “Just as my Father has loved me, I too have loved you; so stay in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will stay in my love — just as I have kept my Father’s commands and stay in his love. 11 I have said this to you so that my joy may be in you, and your joy be complete.
12 “This is my command: that you keep on loving each other just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than a person who lays down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends, if you do what I command you. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a slave doesn’t know what his master is about; but I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, I chose you; and I have commissioned you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that whatever you ask from the Father in my name he may give you. 17 This is what I command you: keep loving each other!

John Wesley's Notes-commentary for
Acts 10:44-48
Verse 44
[44] While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
The Holy Ghost fell on all that were hearing the word — Thus were they consecrated to God, as the first fruits of the Gentiles. And thus did God give a clear and satisfactory evidence, that he had accepted them as well as the Jews.
Verse 45
[45] And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
The believers of the circumcision — The believing Jews.
Verse 47
[47] Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Ghost? — He does not say they have the baptism of the Spirit; therefore they do not need baptism with water. But just the contrary: if they have received the Spirit, then baptize them with water. How easily is this question decided, if we will take the word of God for our rule! Either men have received the Holy Ghost or not. If they have not, Repent, saith God, and be baptized, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. If they have, if they are already baptized with the Holy Ghost, then who can forbid water?
Verse 48
[48] And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
In the name of the Lord — Which implies the Father who anointed him, and the Spirit with which he was anointed to his office. But as the Gentiles had before believed in God the Father, and could not but now believe in the Holy Ghost, under whose powerful influence they were at this very time, there was the less need of taking notice, that they were baptized into the belief and profession of the sacred Three: though doubtless the apostle administered the ordinances in that very form which Christ himself had prescribed.
Psalm 98
Verse 2
[2] The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.
Salvation — The redemption of the world by the Messiah: which was hitherto reserved was a secret among the Jews, yea was not throughly known by the most of the Jews themselves.
Righteousness — His faithfulness in accomplishing this great promise.
1 John 5:1-6
Verse 1
[1] Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
The scope and sum of this whole paragraph appears from the conclusion of it, 1 John 5:13: "These things have I written to you who believe, that ye may know that ye who believe have eternal life." So faith is the first and last point with St. John also.
Every one who loveth — God that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him - Hath a natural affection to all his brethren.
Verse 2
[2] By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
Hereby we know — This is a plain proof.
That we love the children of God — As his children.
Verse 3
[3] For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
For this is the love of God — The only sure proof of it.
That we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous — To any that are born of God.
Verse 4
[4] For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
For whatsoever — This expression implies the most unlimited universality.
Is born of God overcometh the world — Conquers whatever it can lay in the way, either to allure or fright the children of God from keeping his commandments.
And this is the victory — The grand means of overcoming.
Even our faith — Seeing all things are possible to him that believeth.
Verse 5
[5] Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Who is he that overcometh the world — That is superior to all worldly care, desire, fear? Every believer, and none else. The seventh verse 1 John 5:7 (usually so reckoned) is a brief recapitulation of all which has been before advanced concerning the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. It is cited, in conjunction with the sixth and eighth, 1 John 5:6,8 by Tertullian, Cyprian, and an uninterrupted train of Fathers. And, indeed, what the sun is in the world, what the heart is in a man, what the needle is in the mariner's compass, this verse is in the epistle. By this the sixth, eighth, and ninth verses 1 John 5:6,8,9 are indissolubly connected; as will be evident, beyond all contradiction, when they are accurately considered.
Verse 6
[6] This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
This is he — St. John here shows the immovable foundation of that faith that Jesus is the Son of God; not only the testimony of man, but the firm, indubitable testimony of God.
Who came — Jesus is he of whom it was promised that he should come; and who accordingly, is come. And this the Spirit, and the water, and the blood testify.
Even Jesus — Who, coming by water and blood, is by this very thing demonstrated to be the Christ.
Not by the water only — Wherein he was baptized.
But by the water and the blood — Which he shed when he had finished the work his Father had given him to do. He not only undertook at his baptism "to fulfil all righteousness," but on the cross accomplished what he had undertaken; in token whereof, when all was finished, blood and water came out of his side. And it is the Spirit who likewise testifieth - Of Jesus Christ, namely, by Moses and all the prophets, by John the Baptist, by all the apostles, and in all the writings of the New Testament. And against his testimony there can be no exception, because the Spirit is truth - The very God of truth.
John 15:9-17
Verse 9
[9] As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
Abide ye in my love — Keep your place in my affection. See that ye do not forfeit that invaluable blessing. How needless a caution, if it were impossible for them not to abide therein?
Verse 10
[10] If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love — On these terms, and no other, ye shall remain the objects of my special affection.
Verse 11
[11] These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
That my joy might remain in you — The same joy which I feel in loving the Father, and keeping his commandments.
Verse 12
[12] This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Your joy will be full, if ye so love one another.
Verse 13
[13] Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Greater love — To his friends. He here speaks of them only.
Verse 14
[14] Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you — On this condition, not otherwise. A thunderbolt for Antinomianism! Who then dares assert that God's love does not at all depend on man's works?
Verse 15
[15] Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
All things — Which might be of service to you.
Verse 16
[16] Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Ye — My apostles, have not chosen me, but I have chosen you - As clearly appears from the sacred history: and appointed you, that ye may go and bear fruit - I have chosen and appointed you for this end, that ye may go and convert sinners: and that your fruit may remain - That the fruit of your labours may remain to the end of the world; yea, to eternity; that whatsoever ye shall ask - The consequence of your going and bearing fruit will be, that all your prayers will he heard.

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Upper Room Ministries, a ministry of Discipleship Ministries

PO Box 340004

Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004 United States
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Sermon Story "Friends Bearing Fruit" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 10 May 2015 with Scripture: John 15:9 “Just as my Father has loved me, I too have loved you; so stay in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will stay in my love — just as I have kept my Father’s commands and stay in his love. 11 I have said this to you so that my joy may be in you, and your joy be complete.
12 “This is my command: that you keep on loving each other just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than a person who lays down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends, if you do what I command you. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a slave doesn’t know what his master is about; but I have called you friends, because everything I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, I chose you; and I have commissioned you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last; so that whatever you ask from the Father in my name he may give you. 17 This is what I command you: keep loving each other!
As we have read the Scripture passage, but especially the Gospel, we read about the fruit of the Spirit. We have talked about the furuits that come with be a follower of Jesus, but there is one that is predominent over all the others. This fruit is Love. Jesus Says that we bear fruit of Love, but too often we overlook this fruit. We look at other gifts that bring praise to God, yes, but brings praise of people. Love is an effort to bring peace to the community we live in at all costs to our own personal agendas to bring us the ful credit or credit at all. How do you seek this gift of love? Will you seek to love enemies as well as friends and reltives? We come to remember the love God displayed in the death and shedding of Jesus blood as we come to eat the Body of Jesus and drink His blood as we partake in the Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist singing the Hymn " They'll Know We Are Christians"

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord

And we pray that all unity may one day be restored

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love