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Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Mark 14:22 While they were eating, Yeshua took a piece of matzah, made the b’rakhah, broke it, gave it to them and said, “Take it! This is my body.” 23 Also he took a cup of wine, made the b’rakhah, and gave it to them; and they all drank. 24 He said to them, “This is my blood, which ratifies the New Covenant, my blood shed on behalf of many people. 25 Yes! I tell you, I will not drink this ‘fruit of the vine’ again until the day I drink new wine in the Kingdom of God.”
26 After singing the Hallel, they went out to the Mount of Olives., Psalm 118:5 From my being hemmed in I called on Yah;
he answered and gave me more room.
6 With Adonai on my side, I fear nothing —
what can human beings do to me?, 28 You are my God, and I thank you.
You are my God; I exalt you.
29 Give thanks to Adonai; for he is good,
for his grace continues forever.
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Psalm 118 praised God’s steadfast love. It was the last hallel (hymn of praise) Hebrews sang at Passover as they recalled God freeing Israel from slavery in Egypt. Mark 14:26 strongly suggested that
Jesus, just before his arrest and crucifixion, sang from the Psalm: “The Lord is for me—I won’t be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” and “Give thanks to the Lord because he is good, because his
faithful love lasts forever.”
• The Psalmist asked the simple yet profound question, “The Lord is for me….What can anyone do to me?” To what extent are you able to trust that God is indeed “for” you? How much stronger is that level of trust for you on a beautiful, sunny morning when all is going well than on a cold, gray day when you’ve received troubling news that made you sad?
• A summary of researcher Robert Emmons’ findings notes, “Cultivating an attitude of gratitude is tough. It is, according to Emmons, a ‘chosen attitude’….People must give up a “victim mentality” and overcome a sense of entitlement and deservedness.” * To what extent does your inner narrative build on the “you deserve it” idea we hear in so many commercials? How can you cultivate gratitude for even basic gifts like shelter, loving relationships—and life itself?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, sometimes in anger we’ll think or say, “I didn’t ask to be born.” But that’s also true when loved ones gather, when warm homes shelter us from the cold or when health lets us play
games or pursue hobbies we enjoy. Thank you for the gifts of my life. Amen.
* Excerpt from “The New Science of Gratitude” at http://gratitudepower.net/science.htm.
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Jennifer CreagarJennifer Creagar is the Financial Care Program Director in Congregational Care at Resurrection Leawood. She is married and loves spending time with her family, and she enjoys writing and photography.
I’m a Baby Boomer, and we Boomers were given some interesting reasons to be thankful as we were growing up. We were told to “Eat your dinner, there are starving children in Africa who would be grateful for those green beans,” and “Be thankful for all the good things you have because there are people in this world who are not so blessed.” These may have not been the healthiest messages we ever received. Comparison to others is not a good reason to be filled with gratitude.
In truth, comparison of any kind is a killer of joy and the enemy of living a life grounded in gratitude. We will always be able to find someone whose life seems more difficult than our own, and someone whose life seems much easier and even more blessed. That doesn’t mean that we are somehow more deserving than the person who is suffering, or that we are less loved by God when we see someone who appears to be more “blessed.”
Six years ago, right before Thanksgiving, I found out I had cancer, and I was not feeling particularly grateful. Mad, sad, scared – but certainly not grateful. A friend, who had experienced cancer herself, told me this: “A lot of people are going to say stupid things. A lot of people are going to tell you to be grateful you found this early, that it isn’t a different kind of cancer, that you have a wonderful family. All of that is probably true, but that’s not why you can still be grateful. If you can realize that, no matter what happens, God is with you and you are never going to be alone, you will feel grateful and blessed. Not blessed by cancer. That’s not a blessing. Blessed by God’s presence in your life and promise to never leave you, no matter what.”
In today’s GPS, the Psalmist gives us the real reason for joy and for gratitude, “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, because his faithful love lasts forever.” There is nothing there about looking at anyone else. Joy and gratitude are about me and God, and about you and God. Joy and gratitude are about the fact that God is good and faithful and his love lasts into eternity; that it is unshakable, so we do not have to be afraid. The Scripture today tells us that Jesus led his followers in songs of praise before they went out to the Mount of Olives and the path to his crucifixion. They sang about the Lord’s faithfulness and love that lasts forever and gave thanks for that fact, which cannot be compared to anything else.
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"Getting “high” by expressing gratitude"
Thursday, 23 November 2017
Ephesians 5:15 Therefore, pay careful attention to how you conduct your life — live wisely, not unwisely. 16 Use your time well, for these are evil days. 17 So don’t be foolish, but try to understand what the will of the Lord is.
18 Don’t get drunk with wine, because it makes you lose control. Instead, keep on being filled with the Spirit — 19 sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to each other; sing to the Lord and make music in your heart to him; 20 always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
21 Submit to one another in fear of the Messiah.
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We hope you find much for which you can be grateful this Thanksgiving Day! In the ancient world, as today, some people tried to numb themselves against life’s pains with alcohol (as well, of course, as with other escape mechanisms). That can be the downside of holidays like Thanksgiving. To Christians in Ephesus, Paul wrote that psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, and always giving thanks to God were a much better alternative, with better life results.
• The Message paraphrased Paul’s counsel in verses 18-19 this way: “Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs!” Can gratitude to God be in any way “intoxicating,” even habit-forming? Have you ever been in that condition, and if so, what was the experience like? What are some of the life benefits of a “gratitude habit”?
• Robert Emmons wrote, “I asked people with debilitating physical illnesses to compose a narrative concerning a time when they felt a deep sense of gratitude….It was evident from reading these narrative accounts that (1) gratitude can be an overwhelmingly intense feeling.” * What can help you look beyond whatever challenges you face in order to experience the power of gratitude on this day?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, as most of us pause in our pursuit of more to offer thanks for what is already ours, guide my heart into a more determined choice to make every day you give me a day of thanksgiving. Amen.
* Robert Emmons, “How Gratitude Can Help You Through Hard Times,” syndicated from Greater Good, Sep 12, 2013 at http://www.dailygood.org/story/532/how-gratitude-can-help-you-through-hard-times-robert-emmons/
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"Jesus claimed Isaiah’s promise—'a mantle of praise'”
Friday, 24 November 2017
Luke 4:16 Now when he went to Natzeret, where he had been brought up, on Shabbat he went to the synagogue as usual. He stood up to read, 17 and he was given the scroll of the prophet Yesha‘yahu. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of Adonai is upon me;
therefore he has anointed me
to announce Good News to the poor;
he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the imprisoned
and renewed sight for the blind,
to release those who have been crushed,
19 to proclaim a year of the favor of Adonai.”[Luke 4:19 Isaiah 61:1–2; 58:6]
20 After closing the scroll and returning it to the shammash, he sat down; and the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 He started to speak to them: “Today, as you heard it read, this passage of the Tanakh was fulfilled!”, Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of Adonai Elohim is upon me,
because Adonai has anointed me
to announce good news to the poor.
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted;
to proclaim freedom to the captives,
to let out into light those bound in the dark;
2 to proclaim the year of the favor of Adonai
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn,
3 yes, provide for those in Tziyon who mourn,
giving them garlands instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
a cloak of praise instead of a heavy spirit,
so that they will be called oaks of righteousness
planted by Adonai, in which he takes pride.
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Israel’s law included a provision (perhaps honored more as an ideal than in actual practice) that every fiftieth year was a “Jubilee” year in which people forgave debts, returned property and restored hope to all citizens (cf. Leviticus 25:8-10). Isaiah 61 evoked that idea as a model for what God would do for God’s people. Jesus quoted Isaiah 61 to define his mission—he would do good things for us that we were incapable of doing for ourselves.
• God is the ultimate source of our “mantle of praise.” Or as researcher Robert Emmons put it, “We affirm that there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits we’ve received. This doesn’t mean that life is perfect; it doesn’t ignore complaints, burdens, and hassles ….We recognize the sources of this goodness as being outside of ourselves.” * How easy or hard do you find it to thank God for the good things in your life?
• After Jesus spoke, the people of his hometown tried to kill him (cf. Luke 4:28-30). Why? Scholar N. T. Wright said Jesus “speaks of Israel being called to be the light of the nations …. The servant Messiah has not come to inflict punishment, but to bring the nations God’s love and mercy. That was a central theme in Israel’s own scriptures, yet…Jesus’ claim to be reaching out with healing to
all people…was not what most first-century Jews wanted or expected.” ** Are you inspired or frustrated that the same love and mercy Jesus extends to you is also for all other people?
Prayer: Lord, thank you that even as I seek you, you have been seeking me. Help me respond by setting aside anything that might get in the way of loving and serving you. Amen.
* Robert Emmons, “Why Gratitude is Good.” In Greater Good Magazine, Nov. 16, 2010, found at https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_gratitude_is_good
** N. T. Wright, Luke for Everyone. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, pp. 48-49.)
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"Contentment: a learned attitude"
Saturday, 25 November 2017
Philippians 4:6 Don’t worry about anything; on the contrary, make your requests known to God by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving. 7 Then God’s shalom, passing all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with the Messiah Yeshua., 10 In union with the Lord I greatly rejoice that now, after this long time, you have let your concern for me express itself again. Of course, you were concerned for me all along, but you had no opportunity to express it. 11 Not that I am saying this to call attention to any need of mine; since, as far as I am concerned, I have learned to be content regardless of circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in want, and I know what it is to have more than enough — in everything and in every way I have learned the secret of being full and being hungry, of having abundance and being in need. 13 I can do all things through him who gives me power.
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Many Bible students call Philippians Paul’s “epistle of joy.” From a prison cell (cf. Philippians 1:13), he wrote a letter “known for its emphasis on joy….Believers have this gladness because they know that
having problems, or even enduring harassment, doesn’t mean God has deserted them.” * But we need to observe that the apostle didn’t say his joy grew from a naturally grateful, upbeat disposition. Quite
the contrary—“I have learned the secret to being content in any and every circumstance” was his testimony in verse 12.
• Robert Emmons’ research bears out Paul’s testimony: “Emotional venting without accompanying insight does not produce change. No amount of writing about the event will help unless you are able to take a fresh, redemptive perspective on it. This is an advantage that grateful people have—and it is a skill that anyone can learn.” ** What life experiences and choices have already helped you learn to live life from a more grateful point of view? What additional steps do you want to take to learn this important spiritual and life skill?
Prayer: Dear Jesus, if the aggressive, angry Pharisee Saul could learn to be the apostle who wrote an epistle of joy from prison, then I can learn, too. Guide and teach me in the ways of gratitude. Amen.
* Jerry L. Sumney, Introduction to Philippians in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 373 NT.
** Robert Emmons, “How Gratitude Can Help You Through Hard Times,” syndicated from Greater Good, Sep 12, 2013
at http://www.dailygood.org/story/532/how-gratitude-can-help-you-through-hard-times-robert-emmons/.
Family Activity: Gather as a family and bring paper, markers, magazines, glue, pens, scissors and envelopes. Together list at least seven people you would like to thank in some way. Consider family members or friends, firefighters, teachers, church staff or volunteers or police officers. Spend time creating thank you notes for each person. Older family members might write notes. Younger ones might draw pictures or cut pictures out of magazines. Have everyone in your family sign their name to each card. Place each card in an envelope, then address and stamp them. Pray over each one, giving thanks to God for each person. Pile in the car, head to the post office to mail the cards and stop for ice cream or hot chocolate along the way! Continue to pray for those receiving your thank you notes!
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
- Praise for the birth of: Ella Glen Owens, 8/14/17
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• Kay Kimes and Kathy Ensign on the death of their aunt Winona Ensign, 11/13
• Carlene Adams and family on the death of her husband Jerald “Jerry” Adams, 11/12
• Randy Renfro and family on the death of his father Jerald “Jerry” Adams, 11/12
• Jack Dick and family on the death of his wife Cordelia “Corky” Dick, 11/12
• Melissa Bennett and family on the death of her mother Cordelia “Corky” Dick, 11/12
• Ryan Turnbull and family on the death of his father Reginald H. “Reg” Turnbull, 11/9
• Cherie Thomas and family on the death of her brother Roy Thomas III, 11/8
• Jim and Judy Sylte and family on the death of their daughter-in-law LaRie Sylte, 11/5
• Mark Jansen and family on the death of his father Donald “Don” Jansen, 11/5
• Joanne Montgomery and family on the death of her grandfather Donald “Don” Jansen, 11/5
• Suzanne Wallace and family on the death of her father Robert Wallace, 11/1
• Dee Anderson and family on the death of her aunt Leanna Moller-Little, 10/29
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You might also like
Gratitude for God’s works is always in order
Gratitude for “food and clothing” fosters contentment
Gratitude keeps spiritual life from being choked out
Jesus himself often expressed gratitude
Jesus appreciated gratitude
Or download this week's printable GPS.
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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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You might also like
Gratitude for God’s works is always in order
Gratitude for “food and clothing” fosters contentment
Gratitude keeps spiritual life from being choked out
Jesus himself often expressed gratitude
Jesus appreciated gratitude
Or download this week's printable GPS.
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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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