Grow! Pray! Study! Daily Guide from the United Methodist Church
of the Resurrection - Saturday, 1 February 2014 – “The cross of Christ—and a
new creation"
Daily Scripture: Galatians 6: 12 It is those who want to make
a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised—only that
they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Even the circumcised do
not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they
may boast about your flesh. 14 May I never boast of anything except the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which[a] the world has been crucified to me, and I
to the world. 15 For[b] neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything;
but a new creation is everything! 16 As for those who will follow this
rule—peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
Footnotes:
a. Galatians 6:14 Or through whom
b. Galatians 6:15 Other ancient authorities add in Christ Jesus
Reflection Question:
The Roman writer Cicero wrote, "The idea of the cross should
never come near the bodies of Roman citizens; it should never pass through
their thoughts, eyes or ears." In the Roman world, no one
"boasted" about anything having to do with a cross. But Paul (a Roman
citizen—cf. Acts 22:25-27) wrote, amazingly, "God forbid that I should
boast about anything except for the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Jesus' cross (and his resurrection—hence Paul's reference to "new
creation") had changed his life.
Paul's "boasting" about the cross pointed to the vital
center of his life. Scholar N. T. Wright wrote of this passage, "Calvary
was the turning-point of history. The cosmos has had sentence of death passed
on it—so God's new world, God's new creation, can be born out of the old. This
new creation began with Jesus himself at his resurrection, continues with the
spirit-given new life which wells up in all who belong to the Messiah, and will
go on until, as Paul says in Romans 8, the whole creation will be set free from
its own slavery and will share the freedom of the glory of God's
children." In what ways has the power of Christ made your life new? In
what ways are you using your gifts, time and talents to advance God's work of
restoration and renewal?
Family Activity:
Explain to younger members of your family that faith is
believing what we cannot see. Take a walk outside together. Talk about what the
wind is doing. Watch to see it moving the trees, grass, water, your hair,
papers, etc. Spend some prayer time outside feeling the wind and watching it
move things. Even though we cannot see the wind, we know it is there. Connect
this to Jesus by saying that even though we cannot see Jesus, we know He is
here because of what we read in the Bible, the love we see in the world and the
help and comfort we find when we turn to Him. Encourage your family members to
remember Jesus whenever they feel the wind. Thank God for the Jesus and for the
wind.
Today's Prayer:
Lord God, you took a brutal instrument of cruelty and death, and
from it you brought forgiveness and a new creation. Thank you, Lord of my life,
for giving me the privilege of being a part of your new creation. Amen.
Saturday, 1 February 2014 – Insight from Michelle Kirby
At The Church of the Resurrection, Michelle Kirby is the Program
Director for Learning Events such as the Journey 101 courses and Destination
Resurrection.
Crosses! I see them
everywhere. In our Sanctuary, worn
around necks, tattooed on arms, and even in the design of telephone poles as I
drive down the street, I notice them because the cross has great meaning for
me.
For Christians, the cross is the symbol of our faith. I’ve heard others talk about symbols of the
world religions such as the 6 pointed star in Judaism, the crescent moon in
Islam, or the lotus flower in Buddhism.
These symbols drawn from nature are beautiful to look at. The cross
though is the symbol of execution which is obscene if it’s only seen as
that. But for followers of Christ, the
cross is beautiful. It’s the place where Jesus expresses his love for us.
Years ago I was going through a very difficult time in my
life—the kind of time where you feel your entire world is crumbling around
you. Others had hurt me, yet at the same
time I felt rejected, unloved, and utterly broken. I thought no one could possible know how I
felt.
I opened my Bible to try and find solace or guidance—to try and
hear a word of encouragement from God. A
simple bookmark fell into my lap, a bookmark my parents had given me several
years before. John 3:16 was printed on
it but my name had been inserted where “the world” appears in the text. It read, “For God so loved Michelle, that he
gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but
have eternal life.”
In that moment, I heard God speaking to me assuring me of his
love, that whatever might happen in my situation, I could always be sure of his
love for me.
What does the cross mean to me? Christ loved me so much that
endured the cross, for me. The cross of
Christ heals me. The cross is beautiful
to me.
Pastor and writer Rob Bell said it this way:
“Our tendency in the midst of suffering is to turn on God. To get angry and bitter and shake our fist at
the sky and say, “God, you don’t know what it’s like! You don’t understand! You have no idea what I’m going through. You don’t have a clue how much this
hurts.” The cross is God’s way of taking
away all of our accusations, excuses, and arguments. The cross is God taking on flesh and blood
and saying, “Me too.”
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United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, KS 66224 United States
(913)897-0120
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