John 15:1 “I am the real vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 Every branch which is part of me but fails to bear fruit, he cuts off; and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes, so that it may bear more fruit. 3 Right now, because of the word which I have spoken to you, you are pruned. 4 Stay united with me, as I will with you — for just as the branch can’t put forth fruit by itself apart from the vine, so you can’t bear fruit apart from me.
5 “I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who stay united with me, and I with them, are the ones who bear much fruit; because apart from me you can’t do a thing. 6 Unless a person remains united with me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Such branches are gathered and thrown into the fire, where they are burned up.
7 “If you remain united with me, and my words with you, then ask whatever you want, and it will happen for you. 8 This is how my Father is glorified — in your bearing much fruit; this is how you will prove to be my talmidim.
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The Bible is a love story—the story of a loving, creative God who is good. It is a collection of wonderfully engaging stories, written in a variety of genres such as poetry, prophecy and parables, meant not just to amuse or entertain, but to shape our very life. Engaging the Bible is about intimacy more than literacy. Reading the Bible for knowledge of God is one thing. Allowing the
Bible to read you for transformation is altogether different.
• Wesley didn’t ask, “Did I read my Bible today?” but “Did it live in me?” Is the Bible actively shaping your heart, your inner self? To allow the Bible to live in us we must be humble people, taking a posture of listening, learning, action and service. How do you let the Bible live in you each day?
• The Bible is both divine and human. The Bible reveals the human struggle, discloses all that is wrong with humanity—violence, lust, murder, injustice, paganism—and at the same time discloses God’s enduring love that overcomes human deficiencies and provides new life. Has your view of the Bible changed throughout your life? Do you value the Bible differently, or relate to it differently, than you did when you were younger?
Prayer: God, prepare my ears to hear your voice in the Bible. Open my heart and mind to the truths held in its pages. Holy Spirit, guide me into all truth and expand my understanding of the person and work of Jesus in a real and living way. Amen.
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Insights from Wendy Connelly
5 “I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who stay united with me, and I with them, are the ones who bear much fruit; because apart from me you can’t do a thing. 6 Unless a person remains united with me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Such branches are gathered and thrown into the fire, where they are burned up.
7 “If you remain united with me, and my words with you, then ask whatever you want, and it will happen for you. 8 This is how my Father is glorified — in your bearing much fruit; this is how you will prove to be my talmidim.
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The Bible is a love story—the story of a loving, creative God who is good. It is a collection of wonderfully engaging stories, written in a variety of genres such as poetry, prophecy and parables, meant not just to amuse or entertain, but to shape our very life. Engaging the Bible is about intimacy more than literacy. Reading the Bible for knowledge of God is one thing. Allowing the
Bible to read you for transformation is altogether different.
• Wesley didn’t ask, “Did I read my Bible today?” but “Did it live in me?” Is the Bible actively shaping your heart, your inner self? To allow the Bible to live in us we must be humble people, taking a posture of listening, learning, action and service. How do you let the Bible live in you each day?
• The Bible is both divine and human. The Bible reveals the human struggle, discloses all that is wrong with humanity—violence, lust, murder, injustice, paganism—and at the same time discloses God’s enduring love that overcomes human deficiencies and provides new life. Has your view of the Bible changed throughout your life? Do you value the Bible differently, or relate to it differently, than you did when you were younger?
Prayer: God, prepare my ears to hear your voice in the Bible. Open my heart and mind to the truths held in its pages. Holy Spirit, guide me into all truth and expand my understanding of the person and work of Jesus in a real and living way. Amen.
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Insights from Wendy Connelly
Wendy Connelly is wife to Mark and mom to two kids and is a seminary student at Saint Paul School of Theology.If you’d prefer to listen to this GPS insight read by the author, click here.
Did the Bible live in me today?
Years ago, word got out at a church I was attending that I didn’t have a “high view” of Scripture, and because of this, I wasn’t allowed to teach. I read the Bible every day, but I asked of it a lot of questions and perhaps, in the process, tipped a few sacred cows. I found myself seated in the church office across from a staff person scribbling notes, testing how fit I was for ministry, wanting to know precisely which stories in the Hebrew Bible I took literally:
- “Do you believe in an historical Adam and Eve? What about Noah? How do you feel about Jonah?”
- “Well, that’s going to be a problem,” she said.
That very month, I began my seminary education. My systematic theology professor, Dr. Chun, taught us an important principle of Biblical interpretation, adopted by the earliest believers: lex orandi, lex credendi – how we pray (orandi) informs what we believe (credendi), including how we interpret sacred Scripture. He taught us to read “between the lines, like a worm,” always approaching the Bible in prayer.
One ancient spiritual discipline that’s popular today and was championed by John Wesley is a form of praying scripture, called Lectio Divina, or “divine reading.” When I practice Lectio Divina, I find a quiet place and read a chapter, sometimes out loud, paying attention to any phrase or word that speaks to me or quickens my spirit. Then, I repeat the phrase meditatively, like a mantra to calm my monkey-mind (the active mind that, like a monkey, swings between thoughts like tree limbs). I sink into the word until the word sinks into me, and draws me into deeper communion with God. I encourage you to try it with today’s scripture, John 15.
Because lex orandi, the law of prayer, precedes and rightly orders lex credendi, what we believe and how we interpret Scripture. And from this spiritual orientation we partake in the divine life – lex vivendi.
Did the Bible live – did it truly breathe life – in me today? Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi.-------
"Did I disobey God in anything?" for Thursday, 10 November 2016
Deuteronomy 5:29 (32) “Therefore you are to be careful to do as Adonai your God has ordered you; you are not to deviate either to the right or the left. 30 (33) You are to follow the entire way which Adonai your God has ordered you; so that you will live, things will go well with you, and you will live long in the land you are about to possess.
Acts 5:27 They conducted them to the Sanhedrin, where the cohen hagadol demanded of them, 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name! Look here! you have filled Yerushalayim with your teaching; moreover, you are determined to make us responsible for this man’s death!”
29 Kefa and the other emissaries answered, “We must obey God, not men. 30 The God of our fathers[
Acts 5:30 Exodus 3:15] raised up Yeshua, whereas you men killed him by having him hanged on a stake.[Acts 5:30 Deuteronomy 21:22–23] 31 God has exalted this man at his right hand[Acts 5:31 Psalm 110:1] as Ruler and Savior, in order to enable Isra’el to do t’shuvah and have her sins forgiven. 32 We are witnesses to these things; so is the Ruach HaKodesh, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
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When we choose to obey God, we honor God’s love for us and live as God desired. When we
disobey God by choosing to live our own ways, we live into our freedom, but also make the
possibility of sin a reality. How do we move beyond a love for self and toward a whole-hearted love for God? When we don’t do what God intends we must choose to confess our actions (or lack of actions) and ask for forgiveness. Confession taps into God’s forgiveness, and forgiveness gives us a fresh start. God’s love is always greater than your biggest blunder.
• In what areas of my life am I choosing my own desires over God’s desires? Where can I find help in overcoming my shortcomings? In what ways do you think Jesus models for us the way God intended for humans to live?
• How can I worship God with the freedom God has granted me, rather than going my own way
in rebellion against God? Here’s one idea: memorize the verse, “To you, Lord, belong
greatness and power, honor, splendor, and majesty, because everything in heaven and on
earth belongs to you. Yours, Lord, is the kingship, and you are honored as head of all”
(1 Chronicles 29:11). When you sense a struggle within you to obey God’s authority, repeat it to yourself.
Prayer: God, you gladly and graciously forgive all who repent and turn toward you. Thanks for your promise of enduring and redeeming grace! May I strive to be as Christ is, so that I might reveal my love for you to the world around me. Amen.
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"Do I pray about the money I spend?" for Friday, 11 November 2016
Luke 12:13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Rabbi, tell my brother to share with me the property we inherited.” 14 But Yeshua answered him, “My friend, who appointed me judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 Then to the people he said, “Be careful to guard against all forms of greed, because even if someone is rich, his life does not consist in what he owns.”
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Wesley famously said, “Gain all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.” That was why he included the question, “Do I pray about the money I spend?” To pray about the money we spend means that we go to God realizing that we do not possess any money of our own. Rather, we are simply holding God’s money for the purposes of God’s work in the world.
• What inner reactions did you have to Wesley’s statement, “Gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can”? Which dimensions of Wesley’s guideline most surprised or challenged you? How does this approach to handling money match up with advice you get from financial publications, web sites or advisers? In what ways does it differ?
• Evaluate your recent spending. How closely do your habits align with Wesley’s advice? Make a three column chart: Gain, Save, Give. In each column, estimate the amounts you have gained, saved, and given in the past year. How do you believe your spending habits, as they might be reflected in next year’s chart, might change if you prayed daily about the money you spent?
Prayer: God, I want to be a sensible steward of all you have provided. Protect me from an attitude marked by greed. May I grow toward faithful generosity, spending whatever money you entrust to me in a way that brings glory to you. Amen.
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"Do I give time for the Bible to speak to me every day?" for Saturday, 12 November 2016
Hebrews 4:11 Therefore, let us do our best to enter that rest; so that no one will fall short because of the same kind of disobedience.
12 See, the Word of God is alive! It is at work and is sharper than any double-edged sword — it cuts right through to where soul meets spirit and joints meet marrow, and it is quick to judge the inner reflections and attitudes of the heart. 13 Before God, nothing created is hidden, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.
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Wesley didn’t ask this question to create more for Christians to do. He wanted us to look at our efforts to daily engage the Bible as a way for God to speak to us to shape us into more deeply committed Christians. Bible reading is not a task to be completed. It is a habitual practice to shape us and mold us into who God invites us to be. Learning to listen to God through the Bible forms a
life foundation that helps us become more aware of other ways, such as music, prayer or the beauty of creation, in which God also desires to speak to us.
• Do you struggle with finding (or taking) the time to read the Bible each day? As with any other good habit, start small—even five minutes a day, and let the time increase as the discipline strengthens your spiritual life. Is your challenge more with understanding and interpreting what you read? Guides like this GPS can help guide your understanding—but you still need to reflect
and pray, taking in what you understand from each Bible passage. You can find more help in
understanding in a quality study Bible, such as the CEB Study Bible or many other fine options. If you know someone who has developed the discipline of daily Bible reading, ask them about their experiences and routine, and what helps them hear God speaking through the Bible.
Prayer: God, stir in me a passion to read the Bible daily, and meditate on what I read. Give me the ability to understand, so that I can put your teachings into practice. Help the words of the Bible to not be just words on a page, but passageways of mercy into my heart. Amen.
Family Activity: In this season of thanksgiving and time of growing in authentic faith, encourage your family to create a Thanksgiving jar. Decorate some type of small, simple container such as a basket, jar or bucket. Place a stack of index cards or strips of paper next to the container along with pens, colored pencils or crayons. Every day, from now until Thanksgiving, invite each family member to grow in faith by writing or drawing a picture of something they can thank God for specific to that day. You can do this together at the same time or individually throughout the day. If you wish, your family can share these aloud each night at the dinner table, or you can save them and read them all at once on Thanksgiving. Either way, continue to add to them as you thank God!
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Derrick Rieke and family on the of his mother GeGe Rieke, 11/1
• Susana Kokoruda and family on the death of her father Ruben Martinez, 10/30
• Monique Exposito and family on the death of her son Blake Exposito, 10/29
• Barbara Ostby and family on the death of her husband Fred Ostby, 10/27
• Neil Ostby and family on the death of his father Fred Ostby, 10/27
• Carol Walje and family on the death of her mother Betty Swope, 10/27
• Janice Walje and family on the loss of her grandmother Betty Swope, 10/27
• Ruth and Joe Ceule and family on the death of her son Terry Johnson, 10/25
• Scott Brandt and family on the death of his mother Mary Antonio Brandt, 10/23
• Kathy Demarest and family on the death of her sister Ruthelyn “Lyn” Neyhart, 10/14
• Lilly and Chad Atcheson and family on the death of their son CJ Atcheson, 8/12
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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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