Missionary Renegade: The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Thursday, 26 May 2016

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Thursday, 26 May 2016 - "How Peter and Paul framed the case"

The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Thursday, 26 May 2016 - "How Peter and Paul framed the case"
Daily Scripture: Acts 15:7 After lengthy debate, Kefa got up and said to them, “Brothers, you yourselves know that a good while back, God chose me from among you to be the one by whose mouth the Goyim should hear the message of the Good News and come to trust. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore them witness by giving the Ruach HaKodesh to them, just as he did to us; 9 that is, he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their heart by trust. 10 So why are you putting God to the test now by placing a yoke on the neck of the talmidim which neither our fathers nor we have had the strength to bear? 11 No, it is through the love and kindness of the Lord Yeshua that we trust and are delivered — and it’s the same with them.”

12 Then the whole assembly kept still as they listened to Bar-Nabba and Sha’ul tell what signs and miracles God had done through them among the Gentiles.

Reflection Questions:
When Peter preached to the centurion’s household in Acts 10, the result was “the Holy Spirit fell on everyone who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles” (Acts 10:44-45). At the Jerusalem Council, Peter and Paul simply described the clear-cut ways God acted in the lives of Gentile converts. If the Christian Pharisees were right, God couldn’t do that—but God clearly was doing just that!

Paul showed in letters like Galatians that, with his rabbinic training, he was capable of deftly using Biblical arguments (cf. e.g. Galatians 3:6-9). But in Jerusalem, he and Peter allowed God’s actions through the Holy Spirit to speak for themselves. In what ways have you seen the “argument” of changed lives speak more powerfully than any kind of abstract claim about words on paper?
Acts 15:12 said “the entire assembly fell quiet” as Paul and Barnabas described what they’d seen in the Gentile Christian converts. When you’re involved in talking about a controversial issue, do you ever find it a challenge to “fall quiet” and listen to evidence from someone who sees the issue differently? What might have happened to the Christian movement if people had tried to shout Paul and Barnabas down, rather than listening?

Today’s Prayer:
Lord Jesus, Paul wrote to his Corinthian converts that they were “Christ’s letter,” written on human hearts by the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:2-3). Make my life a living letter, bearing witness to your grace. Amen.Insight from Evan Palmer

Evan Palmer has been a member of Resurrection since 2002. Evan graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in International Relations and worships at Resurrection’s Downtown campus.
One of my favorite people in the Bible is Paul. Paul, once a self-righteous, pompous man, known for condemning and killing Christians, was completely transformed into a man of great humility and submission. God called him His “chosen instrument” to carry His name to the nations (Acts 9:15-16). Paul’s transformation was drastic. We believe that Saul (Paul’s name before becoming a Christian) heard Peter’s defense of the Gospel in front of the Sanhedrin. Five short chapters later (Acts 9), Paul meets Jesus on the road to Damascus, is blinded by the Lord’s light, continues to Damascus (as the Lord instructed), tells Ananias what happened, regains his sight, and is baptized. Paul, once a murderer of Christians, was now launched on a life path that made him a martyr for Jesus Christ.
Paul’s life is a testimony that no one is beyond God’s reach. Through his story, the Lord continues to pursue the lives of many. I think one of Paul’s best attributes was his humility. Paul refers to himself as “the least of all the apostles” and goes on to state he is not even worthy of the title (1 Corinthians 15:9). Basically, Paul believed if he could be a Christian, it was possible for anyone. People were drawn to him, despite his past. People could, and continue to, see parts of their own stories through Paul’s. I imagine Gentiles and Pharisees hearing Paul share his story and thinking, perhaps for the first time, “Maybe I can follow Jesus, too.” I believe the Lord can shape us through a variety of means, but the testimony of people helps to bring our faith to life.
My prayer for my life and yours is that we draw people to Christ and not away. My hope is that, like Paul, we let ourselves to be used as instruments for the Lord—that we are reminded of our need for redemption, and approach each situation with a humble spirit, and a willingness to love. As noted in today’s GPS, Paul wrote to the Church at Corinth, encouraging them to allow their lives to be a “letter from Christ” (2 Corinthians 3:3). In the same spirit, I pray that we open our lives to be testimonies of God’s unconditional love and grace to everyone around us.