Daily Scripture: Philippians 3:10 Yes, I gave it all up in order to know him, that is, to know the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings as I am being conformed to his death, 11 so that somehow I might arrive at being resurrected from the dead. 12 It is not that I have already obtained it or already reached the goal — no, I keep pursuing it in the hope of taking hold of that for which the Messiah Yeshua took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I, for my part, do not think of myself as having yet gotten hold of it; but one thing I do: forgetting what is behind me and straining forward toward what lies ahead, 14 I keep pursuing the goal in order to win the prize offered by God’s upward calling in the Messiah Yeshua.
Reflection Questions:
In these words, so fitting for New Year’s Day, the apostle Paul testified about how he kept reaching to grow into all God called him to be. As The Messagerenders these verses, he said, “I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me…. I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.”
- In verse 13, Paul shared an essential truth in pursuing God's goals: "I forget about the things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me." The process of growing spiritually focuses on what is to come, not what lies behind. Are you letting anything from your past define you in the present? If so, ask God to help you let it go. Focus your energy on the year ahead, not the things (bad or good) in the past.
- Scholar William Barclay said Paul’s word for reaching out “is used of a racer going hard for the tape. It describes him with eyes for nothing but the goal. It describes the man who is going flat out for the finish.” In 2016, how can you live your life in such a way that you, too, are going flat out for the goal of living the life God calls you to? What choices can you make in this New Year that will empower you to run God’s race with eyes for nothing but the prize?
Darren Lippe helps facilitate Journey 101 “Loving God” classes, guides a 7th-grade Sunday school class, is a member of a small group & a men’s group, and serves on the Curriculum team.Our oldest son is in the midst of the driver’s license process, a.k.a. The Eternal Parental Stress Test. Like anyone with newfound knowledge, all those preceding our son have dubious qualifications: “Don’t you know you are supposed to signal your intention before leaving a round-about? Do you always turn into whatever lane you want when you turn left? Did you even have to take an actual test when you got your driver’s license?” (Our son may not wait until I’m 85 to take away my car keys.)
While helping him review for his test on road signs, I shared one of my favorite stories: Two monks are standing by a road in the bayous of Louisiana with a sign that reads, “The End is Near.” An approaching car speeds by the pair & goes careening into the river. The one monk turns to the other & says, “Maybe we should change the sign to read, “Bridge Out.”
With all this focus on driving, cars, & insurance, I was interested to read an article about Self-Driving Cars. This cutting-edge technology is supposed to lead to an accident-free world. However, these vehicles have racked up a crash rate that is nearly twice that of human drivers.
So what is the problem?
The Self-Driving Cars obey the law. All the time. Without exception. Sounds great, until you realize that everyone else is not necessarily following the posted speed limit as you merge onto a crowded freeway, or that it might be wise to cross the double-yellow line if there is a bicyclist in your lane, or that stopping at every yellow light might cause a rear-end accident.
Another issue is that Self-Driving Cars have very little trust in other cars. If it is merging onto a freeway & there isn’t an open space to merge into the lane, it will just pull over to the shoulder. It doesn’t assume that the other driver will create space for the merging car. (Of course, at times, that can be a huge assumption – especially if exiting Arrowhead Stadium parking lot.)
So the challenge for programmers & developers comes down to this: How do you program a car to safely operate in the midst of very human drivers?
I would submit it would have been helpful if these developers had taken a few weeks of a Disciple Bible Study. By the time they reached Exodus, they would have a greater understanding of the human condition & an even greater respect for God & His grace.
We humans know what we should do, be it on the road or in life, yet we struggle with temptations to choose our own path or may even view laws as some sort of dare to be bested. (GPS: “Estimated Time of Arrival to Manhattan, Kansas: 121 minutes.” Me: “Challenge Accepted.”)
Fortunately, God knew our tendencies and, even as He was developing rules for us to follow, He created a system of grace & forgiveness – which ultimately led to Him lovingly offering His Son as a sacrifice to help mend our broken condition.
Perhaps in this time of New Year’s resolutions & pledges (Whew, I was wondering if I was going to need a map to reach the point of this Insight – Editor.) we might be better served if, instead of adding to our already burdensome personal legal code, we opted to be inspired by Jesus’ admonition & just sought to love God a little bit more each day & strived to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Who knows? We might actually reach our ultimate destination without excessive acceleration or any stress – and not have to see this in our rear view mirror:
---------------------
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
While helping him review for his test on road signs, I shared one of my favorite stories: Two monks are standing by a road in the bayous of Louisiana with a sign that reads, “The End is Near.” An approaching car speeds by the pair & goes careening into the river. The one monk turns to the other & says, “Maybe we should change the sign to read, “Bridge Out.”
With all this focus on driving, cars, & insurance, I was interested to read an article about Self-Driving Cars. This cutting-edge technology is supposed to lead to an accident-free world. However, these vehicles have racked up a crash rate that is nearly twice that of human drivers.
So what is the problem?
The Self-Driving Cars obey the law. All the time. Without exception. Sounds great, until you realize that everyone else is not necessarily following the posted speed limit as you merge onto a crowded freeway, or that it might be wise to cross the double-yellow line if there is a bicyclist in your lane, or that stopping at every yellow light might cause a rear-end accident.
Another issue is that Self-Driving Cars have very little trust in other cars. If it is merging onto a freeway & there isn’t an open space to merge into the lane, it will just pull over to the shoulder. It doesn’t assume that the other driver will create space for the merging car. (Of course, at times, that can be a huge assumption – especially if exiting Arrowhead Stadium parking lot.)
So the challenge for programmers & developers comes down to this: How do you program a car to safely operate in the midst of very human drivers?
I would submit it would have been helpful if these developers had taken a few weeks of a Disciple Bible Study. By the time they reached Exodus, they would have a greater understanding of the human condition & an even greater respect for God & His grace.
We humans know what we should do, be it on the road or in life, yet we struggle with temptations to choose our own path or may even view laws as some sort of dare to be bested. (GPS: “Estimated Time of Arrival to Manhattan, Kansas: 121 minutes.” Me: “Challenge Accepted.”)
Fortunately, God knew our tendencies and, even as He was developing rules for us to follow, He created a system of grace & forgiveness – which ultimately led to Him lovingly offering His Son as a sacrifice to help mend our broken condition.
Perhaps in this time of New Year’s resolutions & pledges (Whew, I was wondering if I was going to need a map to reach the point of this Insight – Editor.) we might be better served if, instead of adding to our already burdensome personal legal code, we opted to be inspired by Jesus’ admonition & just sought to love God a little bit more each day & strived to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Who knows? We might actually reach our ultimate destination without excessive acceleration or any stress – and not have to see this in our rear view mirror:
---------------------Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
---------------------
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