Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Friday, 11 July 2014 "Lead us not into temptation"

Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Friday, 11 July 2014 "Lead us not into temptation"
Daily Scripture:  John 10: He Calls His Sheep by Name
1-5 “Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it.”
11-13 “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him.
14-18 “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They’ll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd. This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father.”
Romans 8:12-14 So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!
Reflection Questions:
The Lord's Prayer is a chance for us to look at who God is, and an invitation to follow Him. The phrase "Lead us not into temptation" may seem as if we're asking God to not take us to where trouble dwells, to keep us away from the messes of life. But God wouldn't lead us into temptation (cf. James 1:13). This phrase serves as a promise that God will continually have our best interest in mind, and a reminder to always let God lead us.
The gospel of John paints a beautiful image of a shepherd calling each of his sheep by name. Scripture says, "He goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice." Like the shepherd, God leads us by calling each of us by name. He leaves no one behind and calls all of us to follow Him. When have you heard God calling you to follow Him? How did you hear Him? How does it comfort you to realize that God knows and calls you by name?
The apostle Paul addressed readers as "brothers and sisters" in Romans 8:12. The use of these family terms reminded his readers that God, our Father, leads us and is ultimately in control. We have the chance to let the King lead us, to be part of his family. How does it make you feel to know God doesn't lead us into trouble, but away from temptation? Where is God leading you today?
Today's Prayer:
Lord God, you are the shepherd and I am your sheep. You lead me away from trouble and onto higher ground. Thank you for calling me by name and comforting me every day. Amen.
Insight from Mike Ash
Mike Ash is the worship leader and Director of Community Life at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection’s Blue Springs Campus.
Imagine a place were people are poor and oppressed. The government uses violence and fear to control the citizens, and day after day the people become more discouraged and hopeless. They have no voice, they cannot trust the rulers to do what is best for them and they struggle living with injustice and persecution.
Then someone comes on the scene and announces that it’s a new day and that the true King has arrived. Things begin to change, hope is in the air and the people can’t get enough of this message the King is proclaiming. He heals the sick, raises the dead and says things like “You’re blessed if you hunger and thirst for righteousness (justice), for you will be filled.” He says the Kingdom is good news, but it’s different than the rules and ways of the former kingdom. The people cycle between being exhilarated, confused and amazed by the things the new King says and does.
We know the story, right? The King is Jesus and he gives his life to make a way for all to enter God’s Kingdom.
I’ve been in a lot of meetings lately. At one of them the leader said “Let’s take off our departmental hats and think about the greater good.” Essentially, the leader was asking us to forget about our little kingdom, and focus on the Kingdom.
This is the problem, isn’t it? We sometimes get too preoccupied about what we are doing, and forget that we belong to a different kingdom. It’s not about the Church of the Resurrection, or being Methodist, Baptist or any other denomination. It’s not about MY church, mission, calling, department or vision. It’s about Jesus and the good news of God’s Kingdom. Our preoccupation with God’s Kingdom should inform and in some ways transform the way we live and work. When we are aware that our allegiance is to God’s ways and not our ways that changes how we think, talk and act. It’s not abiding by rules so much as it is not wanting to break the King’s heart. This is a kingdom of love, hope and forgiveness, and it matters so much that the King was willing to die for it.
The last verse of one of the worship songs we sing says, “Thank you that we’re living in your kingdom. Jesus, you’re the King upon the throne. Thank you for the way you always love me. Now I get to love you in return.”
We’ve been commissioned as ambassadors of God’s Kingdom. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:19, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting our sins against us. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
We have gone from sinners to ambassadors proclaiming the good news of God’s Kingdom…amazing!
So we pray, “Lord, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!”
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