Missionary Renegade: The Daily Guide/Daily Devotion grow. pray. study from The Resurrection United Methodist Church in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Friday, 21 August 2015

Friday, August 21, 2015

The Daily Guide/Daily Devotion grow. pray. study from The Resurrection United Methodist Church in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Friday, 21 August 2015 - “Creator of heaven and earth”

Daily Scripture: Genesis 1:31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good. So there was evening, and there was morning, a sixth day.
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, along with everything in them. 2 On the seventh day God was finished with his work which he had made, so he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 God blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day God rested from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce.
Psalm 19 (0) For the leader. A psalm of David:
2 (1) The heavens declare the glory of God,
the dome of the sky speaks the work of his hands.
3 (2) Every day it utters speech,
every night it reveals knowledge.
4 (3) Without speech, without a word,
without their voices being heard,
5 (4) their line goes out through all the earth
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he places a tent for the sun,
6 (5) which comes out like a bridegroom from the bridal chamber,
with delight like an athlete to run his race.
Acts 4:23 Upon being released, they went back to their friends and reported what the head cohanim and elders had said to them. 24 When they heard it, they raised their voices to God with singleness of heart. “Master,” they prayed, “You made heaven, earth, the sea and everything in them.[Acts 4:24 Psalm 146:6]
Reflection Questions:
Owen Gingerich, Emeritus Professor of Astronomy at Harvard, wrote: “Rather than believe that the universe is simply meaningless, a macabre joke, I would prefer to accept a universe created with intention and purpose by a loving God….the elements are just right, the environment is fit for life, and slowly life forms have populated the earth.” Christians believe God’s creative power produced life. Instead of the (unprovable) belief that the universe is a cosmic accident, we believe God made all that is.

Copernicus, Galileo and the Hubbell telescope have expanded our understanding of how life works. (E.g. we no longer describe the sun’s activity in the way Psalm 19:6 does). Frances Collins, the scientist who headed the Human Genome Project decoding human DNA, wrote, “For me, as a believer, the uncovering of the human genome sequence held additional significance. This book was written in the DNA language by which God spoke life into being.” Does our increased knowledge of life and the universe lessen or deepen your appreciation and reverence for what God created?
“Heaven is declaring God’s glory; the sky is proclaiming his handiwork. One day gushes the news to the next, and one night informs another what needs to be known.…their sound extends throughout the world; their words reach the ends of the earth.” Are you listening? What do you “hear” as you open yourself to the vastness of God?

Today’s Prayer:
Creator God, I join the early Christians in saying, “You are the one who created the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them.” And, as part of that, you gave me the precious gift of life. Help me to use it well, to your glory. Amen.
Insights from Ginger Rothhaas

Ginger Rothhaas is a seminary student at Saint Paul School of Theology and is serving in Congregational Care at the Church of the Resurrection.
I entered seminary two years ago hoping to find answers. I wanted to know the reasons for why Christians believed what they do. I wanted to be able to articulate to others the history, sources, and facts behind biblical stories. I needed to know for sure that God existed beyond my personal experience. I had a long list of questions for which I wanted answers and I thought I would accomplish that through immersing myself into the study of God.
What I have experienced in my seminary growth is a deep appreciation for the mystery, not the answers. In fact, as I enter my fifth semester, I have a longer list of questions. But, I also have an inner peace beyond what I have ever felt before. I need the answers less and less. I love the knowledge, but I see it as layers of understanding now, rather than a final verdict.
I imagine this is what scientists experience as they dive into explaining the miracles all around us. They enter the project looking for answers, and what they find is even greater levels of amazement. I love this quote: “If you study science deep enough and long enough, it will force you to believe in God.” Lord William Kelvin said that. He was noted for his theoretical work on thermodynamics, the concept of absolute zero and the Kelvin temperature scale based upon it. Smart guy!
We seek to know things for sure, and what we find is we are just scratching the surface of seeing how God thinks. That’s what science is to me: our human work to try to understand the mind of God.
Science brings us closer to God. Scholarly study has brought me closer to God. Not because I’m getting answers, but because I’m seeing that humans throughout time have longed to understand where we came from and why. That’s all it is…science, seminary, research. It is all about our human need to find meaning in why God created us in this amazing vast universe.
More and more, I think that meaning is found in love. Love for all of creation. So, let’s be open to all of the possibilities, open to the vastness of God, and open to love for God and others. Amazing things will happen. This is just the beginning!!