Daily Scripture: Psalm 51:10 (8) Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness,
so that the bones you crushed can rejoice.
11 (9) Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my crimes.
12 (10) Create in me a clean heart, God;
renew in me a resolute spirit.
13 (11) Don’t thrust me away from your presence,
don’t take your Ruach Kodesh away from me.
14 (12) Restore my joy in your salvation,
and let a willing spirit uphold me.
15 (13) Then I will teach the wicked your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
16 (14) Rescue me from the guilt of shedding blood,
God, God of my salvation!
Then my tongue will sing
about your righteousness —
17 (15) Adonai, open my lips;
then my mouth will praise you.
1 Thessalonians 1:4 We know, brothers, that God has loved and chosen you; 5 that the Good News we brought did not become for you a matter only of words, but also one of power, the Ruach HaKodesh and total conviction — just as you know how we lived for your sakes when we were with you. 6 You, indeed, became imitators of us and of the Lord; so that even though you were going through severe troubles, you received the Word with joy from the Ruach HaKodesh.
Reflection Questions:Most humans have a built-in resistance to change. It often takes a health crisis to get us to change exercise or eating patterns, or a relationship problem to motivate us to take a closer look at our emotional responses. The Bible said the Holy Spirit sometimes gives us a forceful inner nudge, one that produces a deep personal sense of conviction, whether we’ve done something wrong or need a closer walk with God.
- In one of the Bible’s best-known, saddest stories, Israel’s King David took Bathsheba, wife of his loyal soldier Uriah, for himself. When Bathsheba became pregnant, David had her husband killed to cover up his deed. (You can read the whole story in 2 Samuel 11 and 12.) Psalm 51 was David’s heartfelt prayer of confession when he realized what he’d done. How did his prayer show our human will, our “spirit,” interacting with the divine spirit in the work of restoration? How do you open the way for the Holy Spirit to work in your life?
- John Wesley, Methodism’s founder, used the imposing term “prevenient grace,” meaning that the Holy Spirit is active in every human life even before we accept Jesus. Paul may not have used the word “prevenient,” but he believed the same thing. He told the believers in Thessalonica that the Holy Spirit’s conviction had prepared them to respond to the good news he preached. In what ways, if any, can you sense that God was preparing your heart even before you openly became a disciple?
Come, Holy Spirit! Bring your conviction to my heart, correcting me when I miss the mark, and deepening my hunger and thirst for God as I journey with you into the Kingdom. Amen.Insights from Kari Burgess
Kari Burgess is a Program Director for the Catalyst team, handling promotion and marketing for all of the conferences held at Resurrection, as well as registration and coordinating hospitality volunteers.
Do you remember the story of Mary and Martha in the gospel of Luke? The story where Martha and Mary are serving Jesus in their home, and Martha scurries around like a chicken with her head cut off while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, listening to him teach? I am a “Martha” for sure and can get way too caught up in my to-do list and the busy-ness of my schedule pay attention to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
On Sunday morning this week I realized we had nothing on the calendar. We were going to 5:00 p.m. church and I had NO motivation to do housework. The pause in the schedule needed to be filled, right? As my husband and I discussed various things that might be fun to do, I suddenly had the idea of going to Powell Gardens.
I’ve lived in the Kansas City area most all of my life, and had never been to Powell Gardens. What a treasure for this city! It was a wonderful place to relax and let the stress and busy schedule melt away. Walking through the various gardens and seeing dozens and dozens of varieties of flowers and plants is such a powerful reminder to me of God’s creation. Surely there must be a God to take such care to create so many varieties of intricate, beautiful flowers for the beauty of this Earth.
It was a nice afternoon for our family to connect, to marvel at God’s creation. It gave us an opening for good conversation with our daughters. But as I let my family move ahead of me for a few minutes and walked in the garden on my own, I couldn’t help but feel the Holy Spirit’s presence walking with me and reminding me to draw near more often. To sit at His feet and listen. To take more focused time to talk with Him and share what is on my heart. To take a break from all of my busy-ness to just sit, reflect and wonder at His glorious works.
A worship song kept running through my mind: Holy Spirit you are welcome here, Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere. Your glory, God, is what my heart longs for, to be overcome by Your presence, Lord. We went straight from Powell Gardens to 5:00 p.m. church–and guess what worship song the band played? If I wasn’t sure before, I was completely assured that the Holy Spirit was present with me that afternoon in the garden, and is with me whereever I go. My job is to allow the Spirit in to do His holy work in my life.
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Do you remember the story of Mary and Martha in the gospel of Luke? The story where Martha and Mary are serving Jesus in their home, and Martha scurries around like a chicken with her head cut off while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, listening to him teach? I am a “Martha” for sure and can get way too caught up in my to-do list and the busy-ness of my schedule pay attention to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
On Sunday morning this week I realized we had nothing on the calendar. We were going to 5:00 p.m. church and I had NO motivation to do housework. The pause in the schedule needed to be filled, right? As my husband and I discussed various things that might be fun to do, I suddenly had the idea of going to Powell Gardens.
I’ve lived in the Kansas City area most all of my life, and had never been to Powell Gardens. What a treasure for this city! It was a wonderful place to relax and let the stress and busy schedule melt away. Walking through the various gardens and seeing dozens and dozens of varieties of flowers and plants is such a powerful reminder to me of God’s creation. Surely there must be a God to take such care to create so many varieties of intricate, beautiful flowers for the beauty of this Earth.
It was a nice afternoon for our family to connect, to marvel at God’s creation. It gave us an opening for good conversation with our daughters. But as I let my family move ahead of me for a few minutes and walked in the garden on my own, I couldn’t help but feel the Holy Spirit’s presence walking with me and reminding me to draw near more often. To sit at His feet and listen. To take more focused time to talk with Him and share what is on my heart. To take a break from all of my busy-ness to just sit, reflect and wonder at His glorious works.
A worship song kept running through my mind: Holy Spirit you are welcome here, Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere. Your glory, God, is what my heart longs for, to be overcome by Your presence, Lord. We went straight from Powell Gardens to 5:00 p.m. church–and guess what worship song the band played? If I wasn’t sure before, I was completely assured that the Holy Spirit was present with me that afternoon in the garden, and is with me whereever I go. My job is to allow the Spirit in to do His holy work in my life.
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
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