The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection of Leawood, Kansas, United States - Friday, 08 April 2016 - "Your journey is your own"
Daily Scripture: John 21:20 Kefa turned and saw the talmid Yeshua especially loved following behind, the one who had leaned against him at the supper and had asked, “Who is the one who is betraying you?” 21 On seeing him, Kefa said to Yeshua, “Lord, what about him?” 22 Yeshua said to him, “If I want him to stay on until I come, what is it to you? You, follow me!” 23 Therefore the word spread among the brothers that that talmid would not die. However, Yeshua didn’t say he wouldn’t die, but simply, “If I want him to stay on until I come, what is it to you?”
Reflection Questions:
In John 17:18 Jesus prayed, "As you sent me into the world, so I have sent [my disciples] into the world." In John20:21 he told them, “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.” Peter had personally accepted Jesus' call anew, and he would follow, even at great cost—but he wondered what might await the other disciple. Jesus said our call is to follow him, not to compare our path with anyone else’s.
- Jesus’ prayer and call for his disciples to follow him applied not only to his first disciples, but extends to his disciples today. It is not always an easy call, then or now. When has following God's call on your life challenged you? How has Jesus’ hope and peace helped you through the ups and downs on your journey of knowing, loving, and serving God?
- It can be tempting to compare your journey with other people’s, to wish your journey were more like someone else's. Jesus doesn't call all of his followers down the same path. We each have a unique set of life experiences, gifts and a personal relationship with Jesus. What aspects of your journey are easiest for you to thank God for? Which parts do you wish God would change, or free you from? In what ways can you see that you’ve grown through tough things you’ve faced with God in the past?
Heavenly Father, thank you for calling me to follow you. Help me to trust you at every stage of my journey, without trying to compare my path with anyone else's. Amen.Insights from Darren Lippe
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.
When I was little, one of my favorite TV shows to watch was Sesame Street. (It is a bit hard to describe to our boys the thrill experienced when the PBS channel wasn’t snowy. They can’t comprehend how it increased my viewing options by a whopping 33%. Of course, I’d first have to describe what a “snowy” screen looked like & why that meant I had to sit in front of the TV to flip channels to see if it had somehow improved since the last ad. Of course, sitting so close to the TV is why, per my Mother, I have to wear glasses. But, I digress.) One of the show’s segments revolved around this theme:
One of these things is not like the other
One of these things just doesn’t belong
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?
They would typically depict 3 letters & a number or 3 birds & a tiger, etc.
As a society we sometimes struggle with people being different, be it in opinions or appearance – like the news story of a University’s committee on diversity, which disqualified a member because they wanted a unanimous vote in favor of their mission statement on diversity. Or like the small boy at a K-State football game who was blatantly staring at a woman with a shock of bright orange-dyed-hair. The boy loudly stated, “Boy, does she stick out.” While the father frantically scrambled to quiet/distract the boy, he added, “She’s not wearing anything purple.”
Our Disciple friends in today’s passage are quite understandably struggling with the notion that each of them may be journeying on a completely different faith walk. Some of them will share the Gospel in Rome, others will travel to Egypt/India & legend suggests some may venture as far away as England. Considering that most of them will face viciously violent deaths, it isn’t a trifling question. (On the other hand, John, the only Disciple to die of natural causes, will survive an attempted poisoning, will be exiled to Patmos, & will be asked a kajillion times, “What does this section of Revelation even mean?” – so it may be a draw. Um, we might want to verify that last one – Editor.)
Perhaps we should take comfort in the idea that while we are all wonderfully made in His image, we are also gifted with unique talents & abilities that God treasures & considers absolutely essential to His Kingdom. We needn’t worry about “keeping up with the Jones’” when it comes to serving God. We can rest easy in the knowledge that when we find our niche it will be precisely where God wants us to be. So when we think, “One of these things is not like the other,” we might hear God add, “And that’s exactly what I wanted.”
Now, back to our regularly scheduled program:
Great. J-u-s-t great.
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
When I was little, one of my favorite TV shows to watch was Sesame Street. (It is a bit hard to describe to our boys the thrill experienced when the PBS channel wasn’t snowy. They can’t comprehend how it increased my viewing options by a whopping 33%. Of course, I’d first have to describe what a “snowy” screen looked like & why that meant I had to sit in front of the TV to flip channels to see if it had somehow improved since the last ad. Of course, sitting so close to the TV is why, per my Mother, I have to wear glasses. But, I digress.) One of the show’s segments revolved around this theme:
One of these things is not like the other
One of these things just doesn’t belong
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?
They would typically depict 3 letters & a number or 3 birds & a tiger, etc.
As a society we sometimes struggle with people being different, be it in opinions or appearance – like the news story of a University’s committee on diversity, which disqualified a member because they wanted a unanimous vote in favor of their mission statement on diversity. Or like the small boy at a K-State football game who was blatantly staring at a woman with a shock of bright orange-dyed-hair. The boy loudly stated, “Boy, does she stick out.” While the father frantically scrambled to quiet/distract the boy, he added, “She’s not wearing anything purple.”
Our Disciple friends in today’s passage are quite understandably struggling with the notion that each of them may be journeying on a completely different faith walk. Some of them will share the Gospel in Rome, others will travel to Egypt/India & legend suggests some may venture as far away as England. Considering that most of them will face viciously violent deaths, it isn’t a trifling question. (On the other hand, John, the only Disciple to die of natural causes, will survive an attempted poisoning, will be exiled to Patmos, & will be asked a kajillion times, “What does this section of Revelation even mean?” – so it may be a draw. Um, we might want to verify that last one – Editor.)
Perhaps we should take comfort in the idea that while we are all wonderfully made in His image, we are also gifted with unique talents & abilities that God treasures & considers absolutely essential to His Kingdom. We needn’t worry about “keeping up with the Jones’” when it comes to serving God. We can rest easy in the knowledge that when we find our niche it will be precisely where God wants us to be. So when we think, “One of these things is not like the other,” we might hear God add, “And that’s exactly what I wanted.”
Now, back to our regularly scheduled program:
Great. J-u-s-t great.
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
---------------------
---------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment