Daily Scripture: Isaiah 56:9 All you wild animals, come and devour,
yes, all you animals in the forest!
10 [Isra’el’s] watchmen are, all of them, blind;
they don’t know anything.
They are all dumb dogs, unable to bark,
lying there dreaming, loving to sleep.
11 Greedy dogs, never satisfied —
such are the shepherds, unable to understand;
they all turn to their own way,
each one intent on his own gain:
12 “Come, I’ll get some wine,
we’ll fill up on good, strong liquor!
Tomorrow will be like today;
in fact, it will be even better!”
57:1 The righteous person perishes,
and nobody gives it a thought.
Godly men are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous person is taken away
from the evil yet to come.
2 Yes, those who live uprightly
will have peace as they rest on their couches.
Reflection Questions:Pastor Adam Hamilton wrote that many Christians explain tragedies by assuming that “God has a plan.” He said, “Then we have really said, ‘God willed for this thing to happen.’ If God willed it, then God actually caused it to happen.” (Why?, p.6) The prophet Isaiah said Israel’s failing leaders in his day were letting “wild beasts” hurt their flock. The self-serving, lazy leaders, not God, caused people’s suffering—“because of evil the righteous one passed away.”
- Have you, through inattention or even out of anger or frustration, ever made a choice that caused you or one or more people you care about psychological or physical pain? Do you believe that you didn’t have a choice, that God wanted you to do that? What about when someone else’s choice causes you pain? Isaiah was clear that God didn’t want Israel’s leaders to act so destructively. How can his outlook deepen your insight into how life works?
- The prophet focused on the bad results of the leaders’ evil behavior, yet pointed to God’s continued presence, even at times of suffering, with the assurance that the righteous “will find peace.” In the ancient Hebrew drama, God never gave Job the explanations he first asked for. But Job found that God’s presence meant more than any “why” answers (cf. Job 42:5-6). How can God’s caring presence with you matter more than any abstract explanation?
Lord God, you are not a God who infuses your children with cancer cells, or sends cars careening into one another. And even when we face the results of things like that, you stay with us. Thank you for your steadfast love. Amen.Insights from Donna Karlen
Donna Karlen serves in Communications at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
Today marks the one year anniversary of the tragic shootings at theJewish Community Campus and Village Shalom that took the lives of three people: a wife and mother who always saw the good in life; a talented, joyful young man with his whole life ahead of him; and a loving husband, father and grandfather.
Such happenings make us want to shake our fists at heaven and scream “WHY?!” Why are there so many bad things that tear apart lives, families, communities? And inevitably the next thing we hear is that God takes the bad things and brings good from them.
Well. God. Does.
“SevenDays – Make a Ripple, Change the World” has brought together family and friends of the shooting victims along with thousands of caring people – and the movement has created and united a community. A community of people who believe that they can change the world.
Today marks the end of the seven days, and we don’t have an answer to “why?” That’s where “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding” eventually has to take over. But we are answering it as best we can – by reaching out with love and faith.
How are you making your ripple?
#SevenDaysChallenge
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Today marks the one year anniversary of the tragic shootings at theJewish Community Campus and Village Shalom that took the lives of three people: a wife and mother who always saw the good in life; a talented, joyful young man with his whole life ahead of him; and a loving husband, father and grandfather.
Such happenings make us want to shake our fists at heaven and scream “WHY?!” Why are there so many bad things that tear apart lives, families, communities? And inevitably the next thing we hear is that God takes the bad things and brings good from them.
Well. God. Does.
“SevenDays – Make a Ripple, Change the World” has brought together family and friends of the shooting victims along with thousands of caring people – and the movement has created and united a community. A community of people who believe that they can change the world.
Today marks the end of the seven days, and we don’t have an answer to “why?” That’s where “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding” eventually has to take over. But we are answering it as best we can – by reaching out with love and faith.
How are you making your ripple?
#SevenDaysChallenge
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
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