Daily Scripture:
2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, stamped with these words:
“The Lord knows his own,”[2 Timothy 2:19 Numbers 16:5; Nahum 1:7]
and,
“Let everyone who claims he belongs to the Lord
stand apart from wrongdoing.”[2 Timothy 2:19 Numbers 16:26]
20 In a large house there are dishes and pots not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. That is, some are meant for honorable use and some for dishonorable. 21 If a person keeps himself free of defilement by the latter, he will be a vessel set aside for honorable use by the master of the house and ready for every kind of good work. 22 So, flee the passions of youth; and, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart, pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love and peace. 23 But stay away from stupid and ignorant controversies — you know that they lead to fights, 24 and a slave of the Lord shouldn’t fight. On the contrary, he should be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and not resentful when mistreated. 25 Also he should be gentle as he corrects his opponents. For God may perhaps grant them the opportunity to turn from their sins, acquire full knowledge of the truth, 26 come to their senses and escape the trap of the Adversary, after having been captured alive by him to do his will.
2 Corinthians 4:3 So if indeed our Good News is veiled, it is veiled only to those in the process of being lost. 4 They do not come to trust because the god of the ‘olam hazeh has blinded their minds, in order to prevent them from seeing the light shining from the Good News about the glory of the Messiah, who is the image of God. 5 For what we are proclaiming is not ourselves, but the Messiah Yeshua as Lord, with ourselves as slaves for you because of Yeshua. 6 For it is the God who once said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has made his light shine in our hearts, the light of the knowledge of God’s glory shining in the face of the Messiah Yeshua.
7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it will be evident that such overwhelming power comes from God and not from us.
Prayer Tip:Our daily lives are plagued by so many choices:
What should I cook for our guests? Who should I be in a relationship with? Where should I go to work/school? Who should I go to lunch with? How should I spend my money? What church should I go to?
What are some of the big choices you are facing right now?
Maybe one of the most daunting places we face choices is at the grocery store. While at one time, you used to be able to choose from chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream, now you will find this:
The culture we live in is one of picking and choosing. We have become “picky” and “choosy” people. I remember the first time I realized I had internalized this mentality, I was in sixth grade. Please try not to judge, but I was the founder and president of what I called the “Four Girl Friends” club; the club, of course consisted of the four girls I had chosen and no one else was allowed to be a part of it. Looking back, I feel so discouraged that I left folks out and so sorry, I hurt their feelings, but I thought I was doing something normal---simply making another life choice.
In my own life I have found that a side effect of being privileged is a sort of paralysis and amnesia that comes from the ability to choose. Have you ever experienced this? I become overwhelmed, anxious, bossy, selfish, egotistical and even prideful.I forget what life is all about. I forget my identity as someone who is CHOSEN as a child of the God of all creation.
Not only do I forget this, but I often forget to start my day with making the CHOICE TO FOLLOW GOD. The choice to follow is up to us. Listen to this description of the tension we often live in, from Joshua 24:15: "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Many of us have chosen to follow but often times other things (even other choices) get in the way. What are some of those things for you?
The most amazing thing, the grand irony, is that our choice to follow is one that we can allow to shape all of our other choices. Listen to the words of Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” I don’t think this passage indicates life will be easy breezy, instead, I think it points to the fact that choosing God above all else redefines the way we see the world---we are filled with more hope, love, joy, generosity and peace as we face other daily choices.
This week my challenge is two-part. First, write a list of reasons that you have chosen to follow God---can you remember the things you so loved about God when you first made this choice? Second, take time each morning to pray, “God, I choose you!”[Reverend Katherine Ebling-Frazier]
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
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