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Thursday, 12 October 2017
Psalm 145:1 (0) Praise. By David:
(1) I will praise you to the heights, my God, the king;
I will bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you;
I will praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is Adonai and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is beyond all searching out.
4 Each generation will praise your works to the next
and proclaim your mighty acts.
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Most of us have days when gratitude and praise come hard, when we “just don’t feel like giving thanks,” don’t we? This psalm expressed gratitude and praise as a matter of choice, not of how that day felt: “I will bless you every day.” The commitment to daily praise was based on a purposeful focus on praising God’s mighty works. That was important to transmit to the next generation.
• If you don’t already have one, take steps to establish a daily habit of praising and blessing God. Examine the tools you already use to remind you of appointments and commitments, as well as your life rhythms. Create a “praise God every day” reminder in whatever tool works best for you. Depending on your patterns, you might want to include time to praise and bless God when you awake, on your commute to or from work or school, during your lunch hour or as you go to bed.
• We often gain insights by re-writing a psalm into language that fits today’s world. Read all of Psalm 145 (it’s only 21 verses). Use your imagination, and rewrite this psalm into an advertisement or brochure that lays out reasons for serving God. Humor is fine, but do not make the exercise a joke. Ask God to guide your thoughts as you creatively praise your maker.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, it’s Thursday, not Sunday. Help me to praise and bless you today, to start or continue doing that every day, and not just when I go to church. Amen.
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Ginny Howell
Ginny Howell serves as the Mobilization Program Director at Resurrection Leawood. She has a passion for helping people get engaged in the life of the church, and she oversees Community Events, Member Engagement and our ReConnection Team.
The responsibilities that overtake our identities often monopolize our time and energy to the point that we feel we have little control. That we can’t possibly make space for something “optional” like praising God. This kind of busy robs us of many things. For me, busy often robs me of the proper amount of sleep, the chance to make a home-cooked meal, or maybe the opportunity to spend more time with my loved ones. The more I examine the small activities of my days, the more I realize that intertwined into my busy are small subtle ways that I am praising God and passing that message along to others.
My mind can easily scroll through the to-do list items that I have been able to check off, and it most certainly can bring up those things I failed to get done but will try again to complete tomorrow. Harder to bring to mind are the number of times a day that I touch the cross I wear around my neck or how I can’t help but think “God is good” when I watch someone helping out an elderly person at the grocery store, or hear the giggles of small children as they run to the playground from preschool. For years I have shared with my children praises of God in the small joys of life, and those come back to me in their own words now on a regular basis. Just the other day my 18-year-old daughter was eating a strawberry and stated, “This is just a delightful reminder of the beauty of God right here….”.
I certainly still have plenty of room to grow in bringing praise into my everyday spiritual life. I want to think I’ve got this praise thing covered, but then I realize I might possibly be mixing that up with gratitude. I tend to lean towards positivity and gratitude in most any situation, so much so it can be perplexing to some people. Others might even call it annoying, especially in a situation where the consensus is there is nothing to be positive about or grateful for. I’ve decided I’m going to add some intentional praise into my morning and evening conversations with God, and look for more of those subtle ways to praise God throughout my days.
How are you actively including praise as part of your daily spiritual life? What are the small, subtle things you do every day that maybe you hadn’t recognized leading you towards an attitude of praise?
Ginny HowellGinny Howell serves as the Mobilization Program Director at Resurrection Leawood. She has a passion for helping people get engaged in the life of the church, and she oversees Community Events, Member Engagement and our ReConnection Team.
The responsibilities that overtake our identities often monopolize our time and energy to the point that we feel we have little control. That we can’t possibly make space for something “optional” like praising God. This kind of busy robs us of many things. For me, busy often robs me of the proper amount of sleep, the chance to make a home-cooked meal, or maybe the opportunity to spend more time with my loved ones. The more I examine the small activities of my days, the more I realize that intertwined into my busy are small subtle ways that I am praising God and passing that message along to others.
My mind can easily scroll through the to-do list items that I have been able to check off, and it most certainly can bring up those things I failed to get done but will try again to complete tomorrow. Harder to bring to mind are the number of times a day that I touch the cross I wear around my neck or how I can’t help but think “God is good” when I watch someone helping out an elderly person at the grocery store, or hear the giggles of small children as they run to the playground from preschool. For years I have shared with my children praises of God in the small joys of life, and those come back to me in their own words now on a regular basis. Just the other day my 18-year-old daughter was eating a strawberry and stated, “This is just a delightful reminder of the beauty of God right here….”.
I certainly still have plenty of room to grow in bringing praise into my everyday spiritual life. I want to think I’ve got this praise thing covered, but then I realize I might possibly be mixing that up with gratitude. I tend to lean towards positivity and gratitude in most any situation, so much so it can be perplexing to some people. Others might even call it annoying, especially in a situation where the consensus is there is nothing to be positive about or grateful for. I’ve decided I’m going to add some intentional praise into my morning and evening conversations with God, and look for more of those subtle ways to praise God throughout my days.
How are you actively including praise as part of your daily spiritual life? What are the small, subtle things you do every day that maybe you hadn’t recognized leading you towards an attitude of praise?
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"Sharing about Jesus every day"
Friday, 13 October 2017
Acts 5:40 After summoning the emissaries and flogging them, they commanded them not to speak in the name of Yeshua, and let them go. 41 The emissaries left the Sanhedrin overjoyed at having been considered worthy of suffering disgrace on account of him. 42 And not for a single day, either in the Temple court or in private homes, did they stop teaching and proclaiming the Good News that Yeshua is the Messiah., 16:4 As they went on through the towns, they delivered to the people the decisions reached by the emissaries and the elders in Yerushalayim for them to observe. 5 Accordingly, the congregations were strengthened in the faith and increased in number day by day.
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It was remarkable that the apostles, after a beating, “left the council rejoicing because they had been regarded as worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of the name.” But in some ways, what followed was even more remarkable: “Every day they continued to teach and proclaim the good news.” Acts 16:5 also made the point that sharing the good news of Jesus was an everyday occurrence for the early Christians.
• When was the last time you told another person about a new restaurant, an entertaining movie, a helpful cleaning service, an impressive car you test drove or bought or (if you’re a parent) something great your kids did? Does sharing that kind of news on an everyday basis feel more natural and acceptable than sharing about what Jesus means in your life? If so, what might change that?
• “Public beatings were meant to shame…those so beaten. The person would be stripped and given a maximum of 39 lashes in a public place.” * In the U.S.A. today, we never see formal public beatings like the apostles suffered. In what ways do people at times face shaming for their sharing of Jesus? Have you ever faced treatment meant to shame you? Can you join the apostles in continuing to share every day?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, one sign of this world’s brokenness is the way that some people try, every day, to shame your followers. Give me the apostles’ courage and trust in you if I face that kind of behavior. Amen.
* HarperCollins Christian Publishing. NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, eBook: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture (Kindle Locations 248207-248208). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
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“The person that we are on the inside is being renewed every day”
Saturday, 14 October 2017
2 Corinthians 4:16 This is why we do not lose courage. Though our outer self is heading for decay, our inner self is being renewed daily. 17 For our light and transient troubles are achieving for us an everlasting glory whose weight is beyond description. 18 We concentrate not on what is seen but on what is not seen, since things seen are temporary, but things not seen are eternal.
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The apostle Paul knew firsthand about “the worst” in our world. In 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 he listed many difficulties he had faced. Those hardships took enough of a physical toll that the apostle said, “We always carry Jesus’ death around in our bodies so that Jesus’ life can also be seen in our bodies” (2 Corinthians 4:10). The apostle could have found reasons to think about giving up a life of serving Christ by counting his scars. Instead, he spoke of a daily reality that kept him going: “the person that we are on the inside is being renewed every day.” Every ordinary day walking down a road, making tents or working with leather (cf. Acts 18:3), riding on a ship, or sitting in a prison cell, his connection with God kept Paul’s spirits renewed and encouraged.
• Scholar William Barclay wrote, “From the physical point of view life may be a slow but inevitable slipping down the slope that leads to death. But from the spiritual point of view life is a climbing up the hill that leads to the presence of God.” * How much daily focus do you give to maintaining your physical well-being? How much to nurturing your connection with God? What changes, if any, can you make to ensure that the person you are on the inside is being renewed every day?
Prayer: Dear Jesus, I want strong muscles, and good lab results when I get checkups. Help me to desire with even greater eagerness a strong connection with you, one that renews me every day. Amen.
* William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Letters to the Corinthians (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1975, p. 201.
Family Activity: Even religious families who believe in God often find themselves in their daily routines placing other things above God. As a family, review your calendar and budget. Examine how your family spends its time and money. Ask, “How well do our budget and schedules reflect that we worship God?” Discuss what changes you can make to live more God-centered lives every day. Create a “God is #1” poster or collage and include pictures and words reminding you to place God first. Spend time in prayer as a family, asking God to help you release that which holds you back from truly placing God first in your lives, not just on Sunday but every day.
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
•Steve Williams and family on the death of his wife Anne Williams, 10/3
•Debi Nixon and family on the death of her aunt Anne Williams, 10/3
• Larry Pandjaris and family on the death of his wife Cheryl Pandjaris, 10/1
•Connie Roberts and family on the death of her sister Cheryl Pandjaris, 10/1
•Brian and Scott Setley and families on the death of their mother Judy Setley, 10/1
• John and Susan Casaert and family on the death of their daughter Laura Casaert, 9/30
• Jerry Sommerville and family on the death of his wife Kim Sommerville, 9/27
•Sean McDowell and family on the death of his father David McDowell, 9/27
•Valerie Davis and family on the death of her mother Barbara J. Brown, 9/26
•Steve DeZeeuw and family on the death of his mother Ella DeZeeuw, 9/17
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©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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