Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church Wichita, Kansas, United States - Daily Devotional for Sunday, 5 April 2015

Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church Wichita, Kansas, United States - Daily Devotional for Sunday, 5 April 2015

Today please be in prayer for:

Blair Kirkpatrick Lenora United Parish Hays District

James Akins District Superintendent Hays District

Keith Anglemyer Sharon Springs Hays District

Great Plains Daily Devotional for Monday, 06 April 2015

Today please be in prayer for:

Maureen Appenfeller Downs Portis Hays District

Laura Fricker Smith Center Hays District

Kevin Dixson Haigler UMC Great West District

Great Plains Daily Devotional for Tuesday, 07 April 2015

Today please be in prayer for:

Michael Baughn Brewster Hays District

Larry Brock Bogue Hill City Morland Hays District

Michael Brown Grinnell Quinter Hays District

Great Plains Daily Devotional for Friday, 10 April 2015

Today please be in prayer for:

Gary Davison Glade Phillipsburg Hays District

Les Ellis Stockton Woodston Hays District

Janice Farrell Bison La Crosse McCracken Otis Hays District

This Week's Lectionary
Saturday of Holy Week - 
Holy Saturday/Easter Vigil
Job 14:1 “A human being, born from a woman,
lives a short, trouble-filled life.
2 He comes up like a flower and withers away,
flees like a shadow, doesn’t last.
3 You fix your eyes on a creature like this?
You drag him to court with you?
4 Who can bring what is pure from something impure?
No one!
5 Since his days are fixed in advance,
the number of his months is known to you,
and you have fixed the limits which he can’t cross;
6 look away from him, and let him be;
so that, like a hired worker,
he can finish his day in peace.
7 “For a tree, there is hope
that if cut down, it will sprout again,
that its shoots will continue to grow.
8 Even if its roots grow old in the earth
and its stump dies in the ground,
9 yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put forth branches like a young plant.
10 But when a human being grows weak and dies,
he expires; and then where is he?
11 Just as water in a lake disappears,
as a river shrinks and dries up;
12 so a person lies down and doesn’t arise —
until the sky no longer exists;
it will not awaken,
it won’t be roused from its sleep.
13 “I wish you would hide me in Sh’ol,
conceal me until your anger has passed,
then fix a time and remember me!
14 If a man dies, will he live again?
I will wait all the days of my life
for my change to come.
Psalm 31: (0) For the leader. A psalm of David:
2 (1) In you, Adonai, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in your justice, save me!
3 (2) Turn your ear toward me,
come quickly to my rescue,
be for me a rock of strength,
a fortress to keep me safe.
4 (3) Since you are my rock and fortress,
lead me and guide me for your name’s sake.
15 (14) But I, I trust in you, Adonai;
I say, “You are my God.”
16 (15) My times are in your hand;
rescue me from my enemies’ power,
from those who persecute me.
1 Peter 4:1 Therefore, since the Messiah suffered physically, you too are to arm yourselves with the same attitude. For whoever has suffered physically is finished with sin, 2 with the result that he lives the rest of his earthly life no longer controlled by human desires, but by God’s will. 3 For you have spent enough time already living the way the pagans want you to live — in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, wild parties and forbidden idol-worship. 4 They think it strange that you don’t plunge with them into the same flood of dissoluteness, and so they heap insults on you. 5 But they will have to give an account to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 This is why he was proclaimed to those who have died; it was so that, although physically they would receive the judgment common to all humanity, they might live by the Spirit in the way that God has provided.
7 The accomplishing of the goal of all things is close at hand. Therefore, keep alert and self-controlled, so that you can pray. 8 More than anything, keep loving each other actively; because love covers many sins.[a][
Footnotes:
1 Peter 4:8 Proverbs 10:12]

John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for:
Holy Saturday/Easter Vigil
Job 14:1-14
Verse 1
[1] Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.
Man — A weak creature, and withal corrupt and sinful, and of that sex by which sin and all other calamity was brought into the world.
Verse 2
[2] He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
Flower — The flower is fading, and all its beauty soon withers and is gone. The shadow is fleeting, and its very being will soon be lost in the shadows of night. Of neither do we make any account, in neither do we put any confidence.
Verse 4
[4] Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
Not one — No man. This is the prerogative of thy grace, which therefore I humbly implore.
Verse 5
[5] Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
Determined — Limited to a certain period.
With thee — In thy power and disposal. Thou hast appointed a certain end of his days, beyond which he cannot prolong his life.
Verse 6
[6] Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.
Turn — Withdraw thine afflicting hand from him, that he may have some present ease.
'Till — He come to the period of his life, which thou hast allotted to him, as a man appoints a set time to an hired servant.
Verse 8
[8] Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;
Die — To outward appearance.
Verse 9
[9] Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
Scent — By means of water. Scent or smell, is figuratively ascribed to a tree.
Verse 10
[10] But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
Man — Two words are here used for man. Geber, a mighty man, tho' mighty, dies. Adam, a man of earth, returns to it. Before death, he is dying daily, continually wasting away. In death, he giveth up the ghost, the spirit returns to God that gave it. After death, where is he? Not where he was: his place knows him no more. But is he nowhere? Yes, he is gone to the world of spirits, gone into eternity, gone, never to return to this world!
Verse 11
[11] As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
As — So it is with man. Or thus, as when the waters fail from the sea, when the sea forsakes the place into which it used to flow, the river which was fed by it, decayeth and drieth up without all hopes of recovery.
Verse 12
[12] So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
Lieth — In his bed, the grave.
'Till — Until the time of the general resurrection, when these visible heavens shall pass away.
Verse 13
[13] O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
The grave — The grave is not only a resting-place, but an hiding-place to the children of God. He hides them in the grave, as we hide our treasure in a place of secrecy and safety. Hide me there, not only from the storms of this life, but for the glory of a better.
Until thy wrath be past — As long as our bodies lie in the grave, there are some fruits of God's wrath against sin: until the set time comes, for their being remembered, as Noah was remembered in the ark, Genesis 8:1. Our bodies shall not be forgotten in the grave, there is a time set for their being enquired after.
Verse 14
[14] If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
Shall he live? — He shall not in this world. Therefore I will patiently wait 'till that change comes, which will put a period to my calamities.
Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16
Verse 1
[1] In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.
Ashamed — Of my confidence in thy promise.
Deliver me — According to thy faithfulness and goodness.
Verse 15
[15] My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
My times — All the affairs and events of my life, are wholly in thy power.
1 Peter 4:1-8
Verse 1
[1] Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
Arm yourselves with the same mind — Which will be armour of proof against all your enemies.
For he that hath suffered in the flesh — That hath so suffered as to he thereby made inwardly and truly conformable to the sufferings of Christ.
Hath ceased from sin — Is delivered from it.
Verse 2
[2] That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
That ye may no longer live in the flesh — Even in this mortal body.
To the desires of men — Either your own or those of others. These are various; but the will of God is one.
Verse 3
[3] For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
Revellings, banquetings — Have these words any meaning now? They had, seventeen hundred years ago. Then the former meant, meetings to eat; meetings, the direct end of which was, to please the taste: the latter, meetings to drink: both of which Christians then ranked with abominable idolatries.
Verse 4
[4] Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:
The same — As ye did once.
Speaking evil of you — As proud, singular, silly, wicked and the like.
Verse 5
[5] Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
Who shall give account — Of this, as well as all their other ways.
To him who is ready — So faith represents him now.
Verse 6
[6] For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
For to this end was the gospel preached — Ever since it was given to Adam.
To them that are now dead — In their several generations.
That they might be judged — That though they were judged. In the flesh according to the manner of men - With rash, unrighteous judgment. They might live according to the will and word of God, in the Spirit; the soul renewed after his image.
Verse 7
[7] But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
But the end of all things — And so of their wrongs, and your sufferings.
Is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer — Temperance helps watchfulness, and both of them help prayer. Watch, that ye may pray; and pray, that ye may watch.
Verse 8
[8] And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
Love covereth a multitude of sins — Yea, "love covereth all things." He that loves another, covers his faults, how many soever they be. He turns away his own eyes from them; and, as far as is possible, hides them from others. And he continually prays that all the sinner's iniquities may be forgiven and his sins covered. Meantime the God of love measures to him with the same measure into his bosom.
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Today's Devotional:
The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “The Day After" for Sunday, 5 April 2015 - Scripture: Luke 23:26-56 26 As the Roman soldiers led Yeshua away, they grabbed hold of a man from Cyrene named Shim‘on, who was on his way in from the country. They put the execution-stake on his back and made him carry it behind Yeshua. 27 Large numbers of people followed, including women crying and wailing over him. 28 Yeshua turned to them and said, “Daughters of Yerushalayim, don’t cry for me; cry for yourselves and your children! 29 For the time is coming when people will say, ‘The childless women are the lucky ones — those whose wombs have never borne a child, whose breasts have never nursed a baby! 30 Then
They will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’
and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’[a]
31 For if they do these things when the wood is green, what is going to happen when it’s dry?”
32 Two other men, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. 33 When they came to the place called The Skull, they nailed him to a stake; and they nailed the criminals to stakes, one on the right and one on the left. 34 Yeshua said, “Father, forgive them; they don’t understand what they are doing.”
They divided up his clothes by throwing dice.[b] 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at him.[c] “He saved others,” they said, “so if he really is the Messiah, the one chosen by God, let him save himself!” 36 The soldiers too ridiculed him; they came up, offered him vinegar[d] 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 And there was a notice over him which read,
THIS IS
THE KING OF THE JEWS
39 One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him. “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other one spoke up and rebuked the first, saying, “Have you no fear of God? You’re getting the same punishment as he is. 41 Ours is only fair; we’re getting what we deserve for what we did. But this man did nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Yeshua, remember me when you come as King.” 43 Yeshua said to him, “Yes! I promise that you will be with me today in Gan-‘Eden.”
44 It was now about noon, and darkness covered the whole Land until three o’clock in the afternoon; 45 the sun did not shine. Also the parokhet in the Temple was split down the middle. 46 Crying out with a loud voice, Yeshua said, “Father! Into your hands I commit my spirit.”[e] With these words he gave up his spirit.
47 When the Roman officer saw what had happened, he began to praise God and said, “Surely this man was innocent!” 48 And when all the crowds that had gathered to watch the spectacle saw the things that had occurred, they returned home beating their breasts. 49 All his friends, including the women who had accompanied him from the Galil, had been standing at a distance; they saw it all.
50 There was a man named Yosef, a member of the Sanhedrin. He was a good man, a tzaddik; 51 and he had not been in agreement with either the Sanhedrin’s motivation or their action. He came from the town of Ramatayim, a town of the Judeans; and he looked forward to the Kingdom of God. 52 This man approached Pilate and asked for Yeshua’s body. 53 He took it down, wrapped it in a linen sheet, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, that had never been used.
54 It was Preparation Day, and a Shabbat was about to begin. 55 The women who had come with Yeshua from the Galil followed; they saw the tomb and how his body was placed in it. 56 Then they went back home to prepare spices and ointments.
On Shabbat the women rested, in obedience to the commandment;[Footnotes:
Luke 23:30 Hosea 10:8
Luke 23:34 Psalm 22:19(18)
Luke 23:35 Psalm 22:8(7)
Luke 23:36 Psalm 69:22(21)
Luke 23:46 Psalm 31:6(5)]
The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”[Luke 24:5 (NRSV)]
Friday was a bad day. The sky turned dark in the middle of the afternoon as a devastating tornado approached. Once the storm passed, a mass of broken glass, bricks, trees, and twisted steel remained. The day that followed the storm in Mississippi left many people wondering where they would live, how they would recover from their losses, where they would work, and how life would go on.
The Friday described in Luke 23 was also a bad day. Jesus had been arrested and sentenced to execution on the cross. As the day progressed, it got worse. Jesus was led outside the city, nailed to a cross, and left to die. Late that day, his followers were allowed to claim the body and place it in a tomb. The day that followed Jesus’ death was also a day of confusion and uncertainty. Many people had attached their hope and expectation to Jesus. And now that hope was dashed. In the eyes of the early believers, all was lost.
Too often in the aftermath of tragedy we lose our faith and embrace despair. We forget the promises in the Bible and the words of Jesus. We see no answers to our situation. In these times, we can remember that a new day is coming, just as it did that very first Easter morning.
Read more from the author, here."Do-Overs"
Having spent several years as a school counselor, dealing with children, parents and teachers, I have heard many stories of dark days. It seems that most of the dark days that we experience, are related to mistakes in our lives. We, as human beings, are often disappointed in ourselves and go into a mood of self-blaming and condemnation when we have made a major mistake.
When dealing with my counselor experiences I found that people came to me with the attitude of “giving up, because I can never do anything right”. My basic beginning point was to reassure the person that everyone makes mistakes and to tell them that “it is not important that you made a mistake, it is what you do after the mistake that really counts”.
I think that is what God was trying to teach us with the resurrection of Christ on that first Easter morning! Dark days, brought about by our human mistakes do not last, God is able to look past the dark times and to find a wonderful victory over the darkness (sins, mistakes, deliberate bad acts) and to forgive and forget our mistakes. I imagine that dawn of the first Easter to have been a beautiful, bright day with the sun shining and with a freshness in the air that was uplifting to the emotional gloom that was hanging over everyone.
When we were children we often wanted a “do over”! God is the grantor of do overs in life. [B.J. Woods]
The Author: B. J. Woods (Texas, USA)
Thought for the Day: Easter morning promises that dark days do not last forever.
Prayer: O God, help us to recognize that Christ is standing with us as we go through dark days. Amen.
Prayer focus: Survivors Of Natural Disasters

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Today's Devotional:
The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “Spotting God" for Monday, 6 April 2015 - Scripture: James 1:19 Therefore, my dear brothers, let every person be quick to listen but slow to speak, slow to get angry; 20 for a person’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness!
21 So rid yourselves of all vulgarity and obvious evil, and receive meekly the Word implanted in you that can save your lives. 22 Don’t deceive yourselves by only hearing what the Word says, but do it! 23 For whoever hears the Word but doesn’t do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror, 24 who looks at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But if a person looks closely into the perfect Torah, which gives freedom, and continues, becoming not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work it requires, then he will be blessed in what he does.
Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.[Matthew 6:33 (NIV)]
When I was a young child, I couldn’t dance gracefully during spinning moves because I was worried about how I looked. My instructor reminded me repeatedly to look at the spot painted on the wall to aid balance. Yet, I feared that if I took my eyes off the mirror for even a second, I would look foolish. One day, I finally took my teacher’s advice. I forced my eyes away from the mirror and back to the spot on the wall. The change was instantaneous. I focused on the pattern — turn, spot, turn, spot — and I could dance!
Sometimes as Christians, we focus more on how we look than on where God wants us to look. But the scripture reminds us to look at God first. Matthew 6:33 says that if we do, then “all these things will be given to you as well.” If we keep turning our focus back to God and God’s advice in scripture about how we are supposed to act, then we won’t spin out of control.
The Author: Kate Miller (Texas, USA)
Thought for the Day: Focusing on Jesus will help us keep a balanced life.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, guide our steps and help us to keep our eyes focused on you and the way you want us to live. We pray as Jesus taught us, saying, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil” (Luke 11:2-4, kjv). Amen.
Prayer focus: Dancers

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Today's Devotional:
The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “Extraordinary Effort" for Tuesday, 7 April 2015 - Scripture: Genesis 32:22 (21) So the present crossed over ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.
23 (22) He got up that night, took his two wives, his two slave-girls, and his eleven children, and forded the Yabok. 24 (23) He took them and sent them across the stream, then sent his possessions across; 25 (24) and Ya‘akov was left alone. Then some man wrestled with him until daybreak. 26 (25) When he saw that he did not defeat Ya‘akov, he struck Ya‘akov’s hip socket, so that his hip was dislocated while wrestling with him. 27 (26) The man said, “Let me go, because it’s daybreak.” But Ya‘akov replied, “I won’t let you go unless you bless me.” 28 (27) The man asked, “What is your name?” and he answered, “Ya‘akov.” 29 (28) Then the man said, “From now on, you will no longer be called Ya‘akov, but Isra’el; because you have shown your strength to both God and men and have prevailed.” 30 (29) Ya‘akov asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he answered, “Why are you asking about my name?” and blessed him there.
(iii) 31 (30) Ya‘akov called the place P’ni-El [face of God], “Because I have seen God face to face, yet my life is spared.” 32 (31) As the sun rose upon him he went on past P’ni-El, limping at the hip.
Jacob said [to the angel of God], “I will not let you go, unless you bless me."[Genesis 32:26 (NRSV)]
In my second year in veterinary college, one of my courses was a particular branch of anatomy. But because my course load was so large, I was not able to devote the study time that the anatomy class required. As the day for exams drew nearer, I became desperate. For four days, I immersed myself in thorough study. I felt as if my brain were steaming in a hot oven, but I learned what I needed to pass the exam. God often works through our desperation, calling us to put forth extraordinary effort to respond to the urgencies of the moment.
Jacob also became desperate for a new and better life. After putting forth extraordinary effort wrestling with an angel of the Lord one night, Jacob cried out in desperation, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me!”
People who put forth extraordinary effort often get results. God wants us to put forth extraordinary effort to bring about the dreams God has for us: to start on a new career path, to help people in need, or to participate effectively in a local church. Maybe it’s time for us to say with Jacob, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me!”
Read more from the author, here.
"Powerful Prayers"
I sat on my veranda last night as the cool evening breeze blew gently as a soothing balm, and my mind was wandering through the many events of life.
From my sitting position, I could see a major part of the city that has retired after the days work. The lights made the night so colorful and I could only wonder at the Magnificence of God, the splendor of God’s creativity, and how God hears all the petitions of his children.
As the Boko Haram insurgent where terrorizing many parts of north-eastern Nigeria, I made a plea for the Upper room family to join in prayers for God's intervention in Nigeria and other countries plagued by terrorism. And suddenly, the tide has changed. Many towns formerly held by this sect have been liberated by the Nigerian army and even a weak Iraqi army has found courage to fight ISIL just because believers dared to pray and God answered.
Then my heart understood the scripture in James 5:16; "the fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much".[Nwakuche Emeka]
The Author: Nwakuche Emeka (Imo, Nigeria)
Thought for the Day: Fulfilling God’s dreams for us requires our extraordinary effort.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to put forth the extraordinary effort needed to fulfill the purpose you have for us. Bless us, Lord, with courage and determination. Amen.
Prayer focus: Veterinarians

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Today's Devotional:
The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “My Friend" for Friday, 10 April 2015 - Scripture: Psalm 139: (0) For the leader. A psalm of David:
(1) Adonai, you have probed me, and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I stand up,
you discern my inclinations from afar,
3 you scrutinize my daily activities.
You are so familiar with all my ways
4 that before I speak even a word, Adonai,
you know all about it already.
5 You have hemmed me in both behind and in front
and laid your hand on me.
6 Such wonderful knowledge is beyond me,
far too high for me to reach.
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I climb up to heaven, you are there;
if I lie down in Sh’ol, you are there.
9 If I fly away with the wings of the dawn
and land beyond the sea,
10 even there your hand would lead me,
your right hand would hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Let darkness surround me,
let the light around me be night,”
12 even darkness like this
is not too dark for you;
rather, night is as clear as day,
darkness and light are the same.
Jesus said, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”[Matthew 28:20 (NRSV)]
It seemed as if everyone had siblings except me. Behind every door in the apartment building where I grew up were brothers and sisters. But they were not mine. Admittedly, I had a lot of friends. But something was missing — having someone else, someone close to me.
When I was a child, I created my own imaginary friend. He had no name, but he was always there and we were very close. He slept under my bed. We liked the same food and the same kind of music. If the family made a trip, he sat beside me in the backseat. When I started school, he was there. We could talk about everything. We laughed at the same things, and we cried together.
Eventually, I realized that my constant friend was not imaginary at all. It was Jesus who had moved into my childhood and remained my faithful companion. Now I’m an adult. And fortunately for me, I’m still just as close to my friend.
My path has not always been straightforward and simple. But never, even for a moment, did I doubt his presence, his patience, his openness and love. In and through Jesus I have many friends. But above all, Jesus has opened doors to sisters and brothers I did not know existed. Millions of them.
The Author: Thomas Boström (Gotland, Sweden)
Thought for the Day: What a friend we have in Jesus!
Prayer: Dear Jesus, we thank you for your life, your closeness, and your grace that lead us each day. Amen.
Prayer focus: Christian Friends

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Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church
9440 E Boston, Suite 160
Wichita KS 67207
316-686-0600
800-745-2350
info@greatplainsumc.org

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