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"Beast: You came back. Belle: Don't leave me. I love you."
Saturday, 29 July 2017
Romans 12:1 I exhort you, therefore, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer yourselves as a sacrifice, living and set apart for God. This will please him; it is the logical “Temple worship” for you. 2 In other words, do not let yourselves be conformed to the standards of the ‘olam hazeh. Instead, keep letting yourselves be transformed by the renewing of your minds; so that you will know what God wants and will agree that what he wants is good, satisfying and able to succeed. 3 For I am telling every single one of you, through the grace that has been given to me, not to have exaggerated ideas about your own importance. Instead, develop a sober estimate of yourself based on the standard which God has given to each of you, namely, trust.
9 Don’t let love be a mere outward show. Recoil from what is evil, and cling to what is good. 10 Love each other devotedly and with brotherly love; and set examples for each other in showing respect. 11 Don’t be lazy when hard work is needed, but serve the Lord with spiritual fervor. 12 Rejoice in your hope, be patient in your troubles, and continue steadfastly in prayer. 13 Share what you have with God’s people, and practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you — bless them, don’t curse them! 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be sensitive to each other’s needs — don’t think yourselves better than others, but make humble people your friends. Don’t be conceited. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but try to do what everyone regards as good. 18 If possible, and to the extent that it depends on you, live in peace with all people. 19 Never seek revenge, my friends; instead, leave that to God’s anger; for in the Tanakh it is written,
“Adonai says, ‘Vengeance is my responsibility; I will repay.’”[Romans 12:19 Deuteronomy 32:41]
20 On the contrary,
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
For by doing this, you will heap
fiery coals [of shame] on his head.”[Romans 12:20 Proverbs 25:21–22]
21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
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In Beauty and the Beast, the Beast demonstrated love for Belle first by letting her go from the castle to rescue her father. Then Belle expressed her love for the Beast in the nick of time, and all ended well. The apostle Paul had never been to Rome when he wrote this letter. But many of his friends had (cf. Romans 16), and he knew that Christians there, as in every other church he worked with, faced many real-life tensions and challenges. He offered powerful, practical wisdom to guide, not only the Roman Christians but Christ-followers through the centuries, in how to transform from “beasts” to people of love, living lives that can defeat evil with good.
• We sometimes live a sort of “news magazine” life: we treat “Religion” as a section of life separate from “Business,” “Entertainment,” and the like. How would the transforming of your mind Paul envisioned affect business dealings? Political behavior? Activities like sports or movie-going? Paul wrote in verse 9, “Love should be shown without pretending.” Have you ever been in a setting (maybe even a church) where everyone pretended to love one another, while whispered conversations were full of criticism and backbiting? What makes honest love (which includes dealing honestly with issues that arise) so vital to spiritual health and transformation?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I want my life to count for good, to make this world a better place. Plant the principles Paul taught in my heart. Help me not just read them but enthusiastically live them every day. Amen.
Family Activity: God designed the world to change. Think of the four seasons: bulbs bursting forth as flowers, tadpoles turning to frogs, rain and snow falling, caterpillars becoming butterflies and temperatures shooting upward and downward almost daily. God designed people to change, too, and Jesus can change our lives anytime, anywhere. Read 2 Corinthians 5:17[2 Corinthians 5:Therefore, if anyone is united with the Messiah, he is a new creation — the old has passed; look, what has come is fresh and new!]. As a family, discuss how Jesus makes a difference in your individual lives. Are you more loving, forgiving and kind? Are you more patient and gentle? Identify some ways you need to grow and change. How can you grow to become more like Jesus? Create a family mural by drawing “before and after” pictures of changes in yourselves, your family and the world God created. Celebrate and give thanks for the change Jesus makes in your lives and in the world!
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Brent Messick
Brent Messick is Resurrection’s Managing Executive Director of Operations.
Please take the time to read this Scripture passage slowly and carefully. This passage is a description for how we should live as a Christian.
Paul encourages us, among other things, to hate evil, love each other as family, be happy in hope, welcome strangers, humble yourself, don’t get revenge, defeat evil with good. The list goes on and on.
My spiritual side is inspired by this picture of perfect humility and perfect love. But then my practical side wonders about who can possibly live up to these standards?!! I know that I can’t.
Rather than be encouraging, this comprehensive list of attributes might be considered as overwhelming and discouraging. We might just give up and say, “Why bother? There is no way I can live up to these standards.”
This passage is a description of Jesus. He IS perfect humility and perfect love. You would be right in saying that there is no way that I can live up to the perfection of Jesus. I know that I am human and that I am broken.
But this passage presents hope for me. It presents a picture of what I should strive for. Yes, I will fall short. And that is okay. I ask for God’s forgiveness, and I thank Him for his grace. I ask for strength to overcome my weaknesses. I believe that God will still love me and help me.
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You might also like
Blockade Runner Pilot: “What is it that they've sent us?” Princess Leia: “Hope.”
Jyn Erso: “They call it the Death Star. But they have no idea... there's a way to defeat it.”
Cassian Andor: “I couldn't face myself if I gave up now... None of us could.”
Jyn Erso: “I'm not used to people sticking around when things go bad.”
Galen Erso: “You're confusing peace with terror.”
Or download this week's printable GPS.
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• J.R. Smith and family on the death of his wife Carol Smith, 7/18
• Joan Stultz and family on the death of her husband Bill Stultz, 7/17
• Friends and family of Teresa Copling on her death, 7/1
• Carol Lovett and family on the death of her mother Faith DeBonis, 6/28
• Kate Tilden and family on the death of her father John Peterson, 6/8
• Melody Pedersen and family on the death of her son Dean “Skip” Ellingsen, 4/21
Saturday, 29 July 2017
Romans 12:1 I exhort you, therefore, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer yourselves as a sacrifice, living and set apart for God. This will please him; it is the logical “Temple worship” for you. 2 In other words, do not let yourselves be conformed to the standards of the ‘olam hazeh. Instead, keep letting yourselves be transformed by the renewing of your minds; so that you will know what God wants and will agree that what he wants is good, satisfying and able to succeed. 3 For I am telling every single one of you, through the grace that has been given to me, not to have exaggerated ideas about your own importance. Instead, develop a sober estimate of yourself based on the standard which God has given to each of you, namely, trust.
9 Don’t let love be a mere outward show. Recoil from what is evil, and cling to what is good. 10 Love each other devotedly and with brotherly love; and set examples for each other in showing respect. 11 Don’t be lazy when hard work is needed, but serve the Lord with spiritual fervor. 12 Rejoice in your hope, be patient in your troubles, and continue steadfastly in prayer. 13 Share what you have with God’s people, and practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you — bless them, don’t curse them! 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be sensitive to each other’s needs — don’t think yourselves better than others, but make humble people your friends. Don’t be conceited. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but try to do what everyone regards as good. 18 If possible, and to the extent that it depends on you, live in peace with all people. 19 Never seek revenge, my friends; instead, leave that to God’s anger; for in the Tanakh it is written,
“Adonai says, ‘Vengeance is my responsibility; I will repay.’”[Romans 12:19 Deuteronomy 32:41]
20 On the contrary,
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
For by doing this, you will heap
fiery coals [of shame] on his head.”[Romans 12:20 Proverbs 25:21–22]
21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
-------
In Beauty and the Beast, the Beast demonstrated love for Belle first by letting her go from the castle to rescue her father. Then Belle expressed her love for the Beast in the nick of time, and all ended well. The apostle Paul had never been to Rome when he wrote this letter. But many of his friends had (cf. Romans 16), and he knew that Christians there, as in every other church he worked with, faced many real-life tensions and challenges. He offered powerful, practical wisdom to guide, not only the Roman Christians but Christ-followers through the centuries, in how to transform from “beasts” to people of love, living lives that can defeat evil with good.
• We sometimes live a sort of “news magazine” life: we treat “Religion” as a section of life separate from “Business,” “Entertainment,” and the like. How would the transforming of your mind Paul envisioned affect business dealings? Political behavior? Activities like sports or movie-going? Paul wrote in verse 9, “Love should be shown without pretending.” Have you ever been in a setting (maybe even a church) where everyone pretended to love one another, while whispered conversations were full of criticism and backbiting? What makes honest love (which includes dealing honestly with issues that arise) so vital to spiritual health and transformation?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I want my life to count for good, to make this world a better place. Plant the principles Paul taught in my heart. Help me not just read them but enthusiastically live them every day. Amen.
Family Activity: God designed the world to change. Think of the four seasons: bulbs bursting forth as flowers, tadpoles turning to frogs, rain and snow falling, caterpillars becoming butterflies and temperatures shooting upward and downward almost daily. God designed people to change, too, and Jesus can change our lives anytime, anywhere. Read 2 Corinthians 5:17[2 Corinthians 5:Therefore, if anyone is united with the Messiah, he is a new creation — the old has passed; look, what has come is fresh and new!]. As a family, discuss how Jesus makes a difference in your individual lives. Are you more loving, forgiving and kind? Are you more patient and gentle? Identify some ways you need to grow and change. How can you grow to become more like Jesus? Create a family mural by drawing “before and after” pictures of changes in yourselves, your family and the world God created. Celebrate and give thanks for the change Jesus makes in your lives and in the world!
-------
Brent Messick
Brent Messick is Resurrection’s Managing Executive Director of Operations.
Please take the time to read this Scripture passage slowly and carefully. This passage is a description for how we should live as a Christian.
Paul encourages us, among other things, to hate evil, love each other as family, be happy in hope, welcome strangers, humble yourself, don’t get revenge, defeat evil with good. The list goes on and on.
My spiritual side is inspired by this picture of perfect humility and perfect love. But then my practical side wonders about who can possibly live up to these standards?!! I know that I can’t.
Rather than be encouraging, this comprehensive list of attributes might be considered as overwhelming and discouraging. We might just give up and say, “Why bother? There is no way I can live up to these standards.”
This passage is a description of Jesus. He IS perfect humility and perfect love. You would be right in saying that there is no way that I can live up to the perfection of Jesus. I know that I am human and that I am broken.
But this passage presents hope for me. It presents a picture of what I should strive for. Yes, I will fall short. And that is okay. I ask for God’s forgiveness, and I thank Him for his grace. I ask for strength to overcome my weaknesses. I believe that God will still love me and help me.
-------
You might also like
Blockade Runner Pilot: “What is it that they've sent us?” Princess Leia: “Hope.”
Jyn Erso: “They call it the Death Star. But they have no idea... there's a way to defeat it.”
Cassian Andor: “I couldn't face myself if I gave up now... None of us could.”
Jyn Erso: “I'm not used to people sticking around when things go bad.”
Galen Erso: “You're confusing peace with terror.”
Or download this week's printable GPS.
-------
Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
• J.R. Smith and family on the death of his wife Carol Smith, 7/18
• Joan Stultz and family on the death of her husband Bill Stultz, 7/17
• Friends and family of Teresa Copling on her death, 7/1
• Carol Lovett and family on the death of her mother Faith DeBonis, 6/28
• Kate Tilden and family on the death of her father John Peterson, 6/8
• Melody Pedersen and family on the death of her son Dean “Skip” Ellingsen, 4/21
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
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Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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