Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Wednesday, 24 September 2014 "'Overflowing with happiness' even when opposed"

Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Wednesday, 24 September 2014 "'Overflowing with happiness' even when opposed"
Daily Scripture:  Acts 13:44-45 When the next Sabbath came around, practically the whole city showed up to hear the Word of God. Some of the Jews, seeing the crowds, went wild with jealousy and tore into Paul, contradicting everything he was saying, making an ugly scene.
46-47 But Paul and Barnabas didn’t back down. Standing their ground they said, “It was required that God’s Word be spoken first of all to you, the Jews. But seeing that you want no part of it—you’ve made it quite clear that you have no taste or inclination for eternal life—the door is open to all the outsiders. And we’re on our way through it, following orders, doing what God commanded when he said,
I’ve set you up
    as light to all nations.
You’ll proclaim salvation
    to the four winds and seven seas!”
48-49 When the non-Jewish outsiders heard this, they could hardly believe their good fortune. All who were marked out for real life put their trust in God—they honored God’s Word by receiving that life. And this Message of salvation spread like wildfire all through the region.
50-52 Some of the Jews convinced the most respected women and leading men of the town that their precious way of life was about to be destroyed. Alarmed, they turned on Paul and Barnabas and forced them to leave. Paul and Barnabas shrugged their shoulders and went on to the next town, Iconium, brimming with joy and the Holy Spirit, two happy disciples.
Reflection Questions:
Moving inland from the city of Perga, Paul and Barnabas came to a city in Pisidia that was also called Antioch. Paul's preaching of Jesus packed the local synagogue (with both Jews and Gentiles), but it also aroused jealousy and opposition. So he and Barnabas moved on from there to the city of Iconium (see map)—but they did so, Luke wrote, "overflowing with happiness."
Facing jealousy and enmity from the Pisidian Antioch synagogue leaders, Paul and Barnabas quoted Isaiah 49:6 to show God's desire to reach all nations. What factors do you think led many to ignore that passage (and many others in the Hebrew Scriptures) and fight so hard against preaching to the Gentiles? Do Christians today need to overcome any similar habitual, "embedded" boundaries in order to fully obey God's call to mission?
Jesus said, "Happy are you when people insult you and harass you and speak all kinds of bad and false things about you, all because of me. Be full of joy and be glad" (Matthew 5:11-12). Can that kind of joy be "faked," or were Paul and Barnabas truly "overflowing with joy" as they were forced to move to a different city? In what ways can you make that kind of joy, even when people oppose your faith, a reality in your heart?
Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you didn't promise me that things will always be easy, but you did say I can have your peace and joy even when things are hard. Help me keep attuning my spirit to yours, to make that more and more a reality. Amen.
Insight from Angela LaVallie
Angela LaVallie is the Worship Logistics Program Director at Resurrection. She oversees preparing the Sanctuary for worship, supports Vibe worship and volunteers in the Student Center, provides oversight for Holy Communion at the Leawood campus, and assists with worship logistics at conferences.
One of my co-workers has a bumper sticker on the wall of her cubicle that says, “God bless the whole world – no exceptions.” What a bold request. In a world where jealously and evil and hopelessness are so abundant, shouldn’t it be especially important to pray for everyone?
One of the first Bible verses most of us probably learned was John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world…” This passage doesn’t say that Jesus came to save only certain people, but the whole world. There is a lot of debate among Christian denominations about what it takes to be saved. Regardless of our beliefs on what it takes to actually receive salvation, we don’t get to choose who is eligible to hear the good news and to receive that salvation.
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighborand hate your enemy.’  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Our first step in getting over any boundaries or prejudices we might have – no matter how large or how small – is surely to begin by praying for those we might not even like. If we believe that God is all powerful, that he answers prayer, and that he can change our hearts toward others, this is the place to start.
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