The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States “We must obey God rather than humans!” for Thursday, 9 February 2017

The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States “We must obey God rather than humans!” for Thursday, 9 February 2017
Psalm 115:1 Not to us, Adonai, not to us,
but to your name give glory,
because of your grace and truth.
2 Why should the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
Psalm 115:9 Isra’el, trust in Adonai!
He is their help and shield.
10 House of Aharon, trust in Adonai!
He is their help and shield.
11 You who fear Adonai, trust in Adonai!
He is their help and shield.
Acts 5:17 But the cohen hagadol and his associates, who were members of the party of the Tz’dukim, were filled with jealousy. 18 They arrested the emissaries and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night, an angel of Adonai opened the doors of the prison, led them out and said, 20 “Go, stand in the Temple court and keep telling the people all about this new life!” 21 After hearing that, they entered the Temple area about dawn and began to teach.
Now the cohen hagadol and his associates came and called a meeting of the Sanhedrin (that is, of Isra’el’s whole assembly of elders) and sent to the jail to have them brought. 22 But the officers who went did not find them in the prison. So they returned and reported, 23 “We found the jail securely locked and the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened it, we found no one inside!” 24 When the captain of the Temple police and the head cohanim heard these things, they were puzzled and wondered what would happen next.
25 Then someone came and reported to them, “Listen! The men you ordered put in prison are standing in the Temple court, teaching the people!” 26 The captain and his officers went and brought them, but not with force; because they were afraid of being stoned by the people. 27 They conducted them to the Sanhedrin, where the cohen hagadol demanded of them, 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name! Look here! you have filled Yerushalayim with your teaching; moreover, you are determined to make us responsible for this man’s death!”
29 Kefa and the other emissaries answered, “We must obey God, not men.
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The expression of trust in Psalm 23 did not promise that God’s people would never face painful, “dark valley” experiences. In fact, in common with other Biblical passages (e.g. Isaiah 43:3), it assumed that such times would come into all lives. The value the
psalmists saw in trusting God lay not in being able to avoid pain and sadness, but in having God with us even in the darkest of times.
• Psalm 46:4 is poetry, not geography. “There is no river in Jerusalem. The river here is a symbol of life-giving power, in contrast to the threatening waters and waves of Psalm 46:3.”* How did that psalm set the stage for Jesus’ dramatic claim: “On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted, ‘All who are thirsty should come to me! All who believe in me should drink! As the scriptures said concerning me, ‘Rivers of living water will flow out from within him’” (John 7:37-38)? In what ways has
Jesus quenched your inner thirst?
• We most often think something “pursuing us” is bad. Psalm 23 reversed that, saying, “goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life.” Were there times when you, like so many of us, tried to ignore or avoid God’s presence? In what ways have God’s
goodness and faithful love pursued you even if you were trying to get away from them?
Prayer: Lord God, sometimes I forget you. Sometimes I try to ignore you. But I do not want to face this scary world alone. And I thank you for never giving up on me, but pursuing me with your goodness and faithful love. Amen.
* J. Clinton McCann, study note on Psalm 46:4 in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 891 OT.
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We’re nearly three weeks post-inauguration. I don't know how you're feeling, but I can hardly remember a time in my life when I have seen people so riled up politically. People from both sides of the aisle are digging in their heels and taking shots at the other side. Some have reverted to grade school playground behavior. “Republicans are idiots!” “Liberals are stuck-up snobs!” I’ve seen news bites and shocking headlines being used as the equivalent of “Nanny nanny boo boo!”
The taunting isn’t pretty. It’s really not. But where it gets really ugly is when Christians start attacking each other in the name of God. I wish I could say I’ve seen it from just one party, but in the last weeks I’ve read comments like “Democrats are driving people from God” and how “You can’t serve both God and the Republican party.” To both comments I would say, “Ouch! Really?”
I don't think that there is a requirement for us all to live harmoniously and disregard any disagreements we might have, but my hope is that the people of faith would be the leaders on how to love and respect those with whom we disagree – even if it isn't reciprocated.
How do we do this? Well, I think it starts by not making assumptions about each other's motivations. We believe that when people think differently than us, that they are wrong and against us or against "our side." Sure, there are people who are mean-spirited or selfish, but I've often found that people have the greater good in mind when they go to the polls. We don't know this unless we actually converse with each other. And by conversing, I mean asking more questions than giving answers. Very few political issues are black and white, and it certainly helps if we're open to listening to perspectives other than our own.
Even when we find ourselves in a place where we won't budge on our beliefs, I think that we can still do so respectfully. We must remember that our highest calling is not to be Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative, and certainly our highest calling is not to be right. At the end of the day, we are the body of Christ. Rather than attacking other body parts, let's do our best to treat each other as those woven together with God's grace and mercy.
JANELLE GREGORY
Janelle Gregory serves on the Resurrection staff as a Human Resources Specialist. Janelle finds that her heart is constantly wrestling with the truth that she needs a Savior, and the times when she's at her very best are when she's just too tired to put up a fight.
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"God: the unchanging 'king of kings'” for Saturday, 11 February 2017
Psalm 46:10 (9) To the ends of the earth he makes wars cease —
he breaks the bow, snaps the spear,
burns the shields in the fire.
11 (10) “Desist, and learn that I am God,
supreme over the nations,
supreme over the earth.”
Revelation 17:9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven hills on which the woman is sitting; also they are seven kings — 10 five have fallen, one is living now and the other is yet to come; and when he does come, he must remain only a little while. 11 The beast which once was and now is not is an eighth king; it comes from the seven and is on its way to destruction. 12 The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet begun to rule, but they receive power as kings for one hour, along with the beast. 13 They have one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are called, chosen and faithful will overcome along with him.”
Ezra 7:11 Here is the letter that King Artach’shashta gave ‘Ezra the cohen and Torah-teacher, the student of matters relating to Adonai’s mitzvot and his laws for Isra’el:
12 “From: Artach’shashta, king of kings
“To: ‘Ezra the cohen, scribe of the law of the God of heaven, etc.:
“Herewith
Revelation 11:15 The seventh angel sounded his shofar; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
“The kingdom of the world
has become the Kingdom
of our Lord and his Messiah,
and he will rule forever and ever!”
16 The twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones in God’s presence fell on their faces and worshipped God, 17 saying,
“We thank you, Adonai,
God of heaven’s armies,[Revelation 11:17 Amos 3:13; 4:13]
the One who is and was,
that you have taken your power
and have begun to rule.
18 “The Goyim raged.[Revelation 11:18 Psalm 2:1]
But now your rage has come,
the time for the dead to be judged,
the time for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your holy people,
those who stand in awe of your name,
both small and great.
It is also the time for destroying
those who destroy the earth.”
19 Then the Temple of God in heaven was opened, and the Ark of the Covenant was seen in his Temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake and violent hail.
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The traditional King James Version translation of Psalm 46:10 is, “Be still.” But the Hebrew did not refer to going to a quiet mountain retreat. It was a call to say “enough” to our noisy inner
fears, and with them silenced, to recognize God as our place of safety. At the end of the Bible, in visions packed with symbols, Revelation proclaimed Jesus’ final triumph over evil. In the first
century, for Christians, the persecuting Roman Empire (Rome—the city on seven mountains, or hills) was evil incarnate. The vision gave Jesus a double title— “Lord of lords and King of kings.” It echoed a title Caesar often claimed. Jesus was king, not just over “little people,” but over all other kings, even over Caesar. He was, and is, “our place of safety.”
• “The basis for the Lamb’s victory in 17:14 is that ‘he is Lord of lords and King of kings’…. Just as the Babylonian king [in Daniel 4] was addressed by this title, so the king of latter day Babylon (Rome) in John’s day was similarly addressed…. The Lamb exposes as false the divine claims of the emperor and others like him.”* Rome was hardly unique. Human rulers have often claimed divine approval or status (e.g. Nazi soldiers wore belt buckles that said, in German, “God is with us”). Many rulers today, formal or informal, claim exalted status for themselves. Do you trust that Jesus is “king of kings” over all of them? In what ways is that trust the foundation for the peace and hope in which we can live at all times?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are the King of kings, you are the Lord of lords. I cannot fully grasp all the reach of that, but I can and do ask you to be Lord of my life, to make me the person you want me to be. Amen.
* G. K Beale and D. K. Carson, ed. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007, p. 1139.
Family Activity: Many people struggle with change, sometimes even fear it. As a family, name the four seasons, then invite each person to share what they like and dislike about each one. For example, the summer brings about more free time, but often high heat. The winter offers snow for sledding and snowball fights, but unsafe driving conditions. Take a moment to imagine what life would be like if you only experienced one seasonevery day, all year long. What would you like about that? What would you miss? Remind one another that even though change can be difficult, we can often find good in the new experience or situation. Read Lamentations 3:22-23 and Hebrews 13:8 [Lamentations 3:22 that the grace of Adonai is not exhausted,
that his compassion has not ended.
23 [On the contrary,] they are new every morning!
How great your faithfulness! and Hebrews 13:8 Yeshua the Messiah is the same yesterday, today and forever.] aloud, then thank God for being faithful through all of life’s changes. Pray for a heart and mind open to positive and healthy change.
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• June Wallis and family on the death of her husband Charles Wallis, 1/30
•Brad Wallis and family on the death of his father Charles Wallis, 1/30
•Tim McCarthy and family on the death of his sister Katie Maninger, 1/30
•Steven Blair and family on the death of his mother Sandy Blair, 1/30
• Julie Bickel and family on the death of her mother Gloria Qualls, 1/30
•Gene Spratford and family on the death of his wife Missy Murray, 1/29
• Joyce Gregory and family on the death of her father Frank Deibert, 1/27
•Tim Danner and family on the death of his mother Mary Anderson, 1/27
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
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