Missionary Renegade: The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Monday, 30 May 2016

Friday, June 3, 2016

The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Monday, 30 May 2016 - “What are you looking for?”

The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Monday, 30 May 2016 - “What are you looking for?”
Daily Scripture: John 1:35 The next day, Yochanan was again standing with two of his talmidim. 36 On seeing Yeshua walking by, he said, “Look! God’s lamb!” 37 His two talmidim heard him speaking, and they followed Yeshua. 38 Yeshua turned and saw them following him, and he asked them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi!” (which means “Teacher!”) “Where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and remained with him the rest of the day — it was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
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Reflection Questions:
Two of John’s followers (we learn that one of them was Andrew) were so intrigued when they heard John describe Jesus as “the Lamb of God” that they followed Jesus on the spot. When Jesus noticed them, he asked a simple question that shaped his ministry, and reshaped the two men’s lives: “What are you looking for?” The two men couldn’t say for sure—they simply asked where he was staying. Jesus compellingly invited them to “come and see.”

Re-imagine this scene. What if instead of his question, Jesus had greeted the two men by saying, “Please take one of these tracts. Have a seat, and I’ll explain the plan of salvation to you in detail, using these diagrams.” What made Jesus' simple question more effective in starting what became a life-long relationship? What wisdom might his example give us as we seek to relate to people around us?
In response to Jesus' invitation to “come and see,” verse 39 said the two men “remained with him that day.” Is it still possible for you to respond to Jesus' invitation today, or was that limited to first-century people? In what ways might your desire to follow Jesus mean spending time with him, listening and learning? (For ideas about the disciplines through which many Christians spend time with Jesus, visit the Renovare website.)

Today’s Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you ask me what I am looking for in life. Help me to take the question seriously, and to shape my life by ultimately looking for the true life that you offer me. Amen.
-------Insights from Melanie Hill

Melanie Hill is the Guest Connections Program Director at Resurrection.
I’m a recovering control freak. It’s true. Maybe a softer way to say it is that I am planner who has learned to let go of the plan. I like structure. I like knowing what’s coming next. There’s a certain level of security in knowing what to expect. I’m not talking about the little things like what to make for dinner tonight (my family is happy I have a plan to feed them), or how they will all get to the fun activities they have planned for this week (again, they are glad to hear there is a plan mostly involving me as a taxi). No, I’m talking about the big things in life–what job to take, where to live and where to give.
Now some would say I have that backwards. You should live in the moment and plan for the future. And there’s some wisdom in that, I suppose. After all, we are called to be good stewards of what we have been given. The problem for me, and maybe for you, is that whenever I make plans God tends to step in and change them. It’s like he looks at my plans and says, “That’s a nice, neat little plan you have there. Here’s what’s really going to happen” and it all changes. When I was younger it used to scare me. I felt like maybe God didn’t really know who I was. I wasn’t an adrenaline junkie, adventure seeking, fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl. I’m an introvert! But time and again God pushed me to try new things, to step out in faith, to move beyond my comfort zone. I think he must have chuckled, thinking, “I know you. I made you. You can do this. Just trust in me.”
Trust–that’s really the key, isn’t it? It’s asking God the question, “What’s next?” and being willing to move from plan A to plan B or even plan C. Trust is what allows us to do that. Trust that the God who made us and knows us isn’t simply willing to leave us where we are, but yearns to move us closer to Him. Often the way that God does that can’t be wrapped up in our nice, neat, safe plans for what comes next. Rather it’s in the mysterious, one glimpse at a time, moment by moment reveal that God moves us closer to Him.
And I’m not sure I’d have it any other way. Sure, it can be scary not knowing exactly what comes next, but it’s also exciting. This control freak has learned to embrace that unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach when a big decision looms on the horizon because I know God is about to do something really cool. Something that blows my nice neat plans out of the water. Something that forces me to move in His direction, and in the end will stretch me, grow me and prepare me for the next adventure.
This summer as you continue to make plans for all kinds of things (again, plans aren’t bad) I encourage you to be willing to let them go when God prompts you to move in a different direction. Maybe the question “What’s next, God?” needs to move to the top of our summer question list. Embrace the adventure! (If you’re an introvert, just remove the exclamation point.)