Missionary Renegade: Daily Guide/Daily Devotion grow. pray. study. from The Resurrection United Methodist Church in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Sunday, 5 July 2015

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Daily Guide/Daily Devotion grow. pray. study. from The Resurrection United Methodist Church in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Sunday, 5 July 2015 - Prayer Tip

Prayer Tip: As a church community, about the parables.
I find the parables charming, particularly because of the way they confuse and stump us. It’s very difficult to understand a parable your first time through. I don’t think this is because Jesus spoke unclearly or the writers of scriptures were poor writers. I think it's because the Kingdom of God is marked by a sort of upside down logic. Living in the way of Jesus often looks foolish in this world.
Not surprisingly, our lives today are full of parables in the making. We are faced with opportunity after opportunity to chose the Kingdom logic in the ups and downs of our daily lives. My momma through marriage and one of Rezlife’s awesome youth directors, Julie Peters, has lived in a way that has led me to this revelation. Just a week ago or so, she learned that she has some yucky cancer that will take some real fighting.
Now, Julie has been my youth pastor, spiritual friend and ministry mentor and while I have had the priveledge to walk alongside many dear ones dealing with cancer, this one really hit home. It has been breaking my heart. My fear has been so great and has tried to drown out faith, hope and love. I know you all might not know her, but I imagine you can think of a difficult time in your life that led you to feel similarly disheartened.
As I have been reflecting on my response to this news, I couldn’t help but think of the story we read about Jesus inviting Peter to walk on water. Remember this?
Matthew 14:27 But at once Yeshua spoke to them. “Courage,” he said, “it is I. Stop being afraid.” 28 Then Kefa called to him, “Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come!” he said. So Kefa got out of the boat and walked on the water toward Yeshua. 30 But when he saw the wind, he became afraid; and as he began to sink, he yelled, “Lord! Save me!” 31 Yeshua immediately stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “Such little trust! Why did you doubt?” 32 As they went up into the boat, the wind ceased.
In this passage, I think we see that Peter is struggling, as many of us do, to let Jesus’ voice overcome the influences of fear, doubt and chaos that come in the challenging chapters of our lives. When I first learned of my loved one's diagnosis, my heart was filled with these emotions. Anytime anyone said anything hope-filled, I was quick to point to negative statistics and to be as cynical as possible. Most of the time, this was a process that I kept to myself, but I am sure those around me could sense that it was bogging me down.
Then, there is Julie. When the world says cancer is a doomsday sentence, when the people around her point out statistics, when her loved ones are feeling down-in-the dumps, she responds with an affirmation of her faith. At first, this frustrated me. Why isn’t she angry that a bad thing has happened to her (such a good person)? The more I listened to her, I realized that she isn’t living in denial of the crappy situation she finds herself in, she just has a deep belief that if she faces this with her heart centered in Christ’s love, the most good can come from a really difficult situation. She has a deep belief that in everything, the highs and lows of life, we all have an opportunity to do them well---to leave an impression with those we encounter that the God we follow is so good, so faithful and so loving. She is doing that so well.
This week, a friend showed me this portrait she had captured a picture of, while in France, it is by Gabriel Dolce. If you look closely you see that it is a picture of Christ on the way to calvary. I was struck by the great agony on onlookers faces and the way in contrast with the light and peace imminating from Jesus and Mary. While I know the reality was much more grusome than this, there is something really true and powerful about this image. So often, the suffering we see and endure causes us to be swept away by chaos, ever changing emotions. This is reflected so well by all those in the crowd. Raw emotion is never anything to be ashamed of, but so often I am led more by my emotions that my faith in God promise that somehow/someway, all will be well. When we know God’s bigger story and when we live with a belief that God walks with us every step of the way, we can face the most difficult situations with a sense of peace.

This week, I challenge you to think of an area in your life where you feel overwhelmed by doubt, hopelessness and despair? What would it look like if you approached this situation with Kingdom logic? How can you re-center your heart and perspective on Christ? How might you face the most difficult parts of life in a way that glorifies God?
Weekend Sermon Title: “Spreading the Mustard”
Daily Scripture: Matthew 13:31 Yeshua put before them another parable. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man takes and sows in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up it is larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the birds flying about come and nest in its branches.”