Decatur United Methodist Church - Read. Reflect. Pray.

WEDNESDAY - October 28

10/28/2020

Read. 2 Corinthians 5:17-20
17 So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!
18 All of these new things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 In other words, God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ, by not counting people’s sins against them. He has trusted us with this message of reconciliation.
20 So we are ambassadors who represent Christ. God is negotiating with you through us. We beg you as Christ’s representatives, “Be reconciled to God!”
Reflect. When we think about the role of Jesus followers in sharing the love of Jesus and making this a better place, you are not just an American, you are an ambassador from God. What this means is that you actually come from a heavenly nation, or the kingdom of God. Your primary home is not in America or any other early place, but is in the nation of God.

In this letter to the church in Corinth, Paul is telling them, ok, listen here God has a plan. And God’s plan is to reconcile the world to himself—basically, God’s plan is to save the world. And God is not going to do this himself; instead, Paul says, guess what… God is “entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. Because you have been entrusted with this heavenly mission, you are ambassadors for Christ.”
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat sent as a representative from one nation to another. What does it mean to you that you are an ambassador sent from God? How do you represent God to the world? How do you represent God to your friends and neighbors? How do you represent God to your family? Does the idea of being an ambassador for God change your outlook?

Pray. Jesus, sometimes I do not live in a way that reflects your desires for my life. Help me to live this day and every day as your ambassador wherever I am. Amen.

COMMUNITY PRAYER LIST

Doug Lawson. Collier. Glenn Ethridge. Adam Funderburk. Mary Reber. Linda Harmon. Betty Carolyn Ward. Albert Rasanke. Lois Robinson. Ross Henley. Tiny & Donald Creasman. Bill and Barbara Buchanan. Bonnie Brenner. Baker Family. Robert McKenzie Family. Kibler family. Carolyn Harlow. Jeff Green. Earl Graves. Mickey Huff. Huff & Welch families. Helen Leigh. Paul Huffman. Schools, Teachers, Staff, Parents, Students. Church regathering plans. Layman family. Charlene Withrow. Brandon Casteel. Dirk Orr family. Smith family. Crowder family. Lillard family. Family of Floyd Eaton. Family of Eddie Rynes. Robertson Family. Harmon Family. Nancy Ryan & Family. Bobby Roberts. Elizabeth May & family. Melvin Rinehart. Susan Rogers. Brandon Haugh.

TUESDAY - October 27

10/27/2020

Read. Acts 10:34-35
34 Peter said, “I really am learning that God doesn’t show partiality to one group of people over another. 35 Rather, in every nation, whoever worships him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

Reflect. God led Peter to the home of Cornelius. By all accounts of this world, Peter and Cornelius should have been enemies. Peter was a poor Jewish man. Cornelius was a Roman centurion. As such Cornelius was a Roman military commander. Additionally, the story in Acts 10 shows us that Cornelius had wealth. Cornelius represented the empire to Peter, the same empire that was often hostile to the Jews. Additionally, regardless of Cornelius’s status with the Roman Imperial Army, he was a Gentile. Good Jews did not associate with Gentiles. From all outward appearances, Peter and Cornelius should not be associated together.

Despite the division and difference, God calls Peter and Cornelius together. Through this encounter, both are changed. Cornelius accepts faith in Jesus and Peter makes the statement we read in verses 34 and 35.
His whole life, Peter had been taught that his nation was particularly blessed by God. Peter had been taught that his nation had a special relationship with God and that set his nation apart from all other nations. Now, Peter realizes that God is doing something new. And this new thing is that “God doesn’t show partiality to one group.” Instead, acceptance before God is based on who worships God.
It is on this basis that all who call on the name of Jesus are One Nation. It doesn’t matter if you were born in Britain, The United States, Palestine, Peru, Libya, Iran, or China; if you call on the name of Jesus you are part of One Nation, one heavenly nation. The governments of this world desire ultimate allegiance and separate Christians from one another, but through Jesus you are joined with Christians in every corner of the world. In Jesus, you have more in common with a Christian living in Iran or North Korea or Mexico than you do with a nonbeliever in your own country.
What does it mean to you that followers of Jesus belong to one nation? How does this influence how you look at the rest of the world? How does this influence how you look at your own earthly nation?

Pray. Lord, you are lord of all, and you have brought all that worship you together in one nation. Help me so to live a unity of spirit with all who call upon your name. Amen.

COMMUNITY PRAYER LIST

Doug Lawson. Collier. Glenn Ethridge. Adam Funderburk. Mary Reber. Linda Harmon. Betty Carolyn Ward. Albert Rasanke. Lois Robinson. Ross Henley. Tiny & Donald Creasman. Bill and Barbara Buchanan. Bonnie Brenner. Baker Family. Robert McKenzie Family. Kibler family. Carolyn Harlow. Jeff Green. Earl Graves. Mickey Huff. Huff & Welch families. Helen Leigh. Paul Huffman. Schools, Teachers, Staff, Parents, Students. Church regathering plans. Layman family. Charlene Withrow. Brandon Casteel. Dirk Orr family. Smith family. Crowder family. Lillard family. Family of Floyd Eaton. Family of Eddie Rynes. Robertson Family. Harmon Family. Nancy R

MONDAY - October 26

10/26/2020

Read. Mark 10:42-45
42 Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the ones who are considered the rulers by the Gentiles show off their authority over them and their high-ranking officials order them around. 43 But that’s not the way it will be with you. Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant. 44 Whoever wants to be first among you will be the slave of all, 45 for the Human One[a] didn’t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people.”

Reflect. Jesus said that “the ones who are considered the rulers by the Gentiles show off their authority over them.” This same thing could be written about our leaders today. You would believe it if you read Jesus’ words and they said the rulers and leaders of this world show off their authority. They throw parties and only invite the most “important” people. They get special healthcare that is not available to “regular” people. They have access to security and safety measures that nobody else get. They can skirt around and often break laws that everyone else must obey. They enter a room and expect people to applaud or want to get their picture taken with them. For American presidents, you expect to hear: “Hail to the Chief.” This type of pomp and circumstance is expected.

In his kingdom, Jesus says that there is a different way. Instead of the leaders and rulers being defined by their authority over people, they are defined by something else. Leadership with those that follow Jesus is defined by an inverse rule. Those that want to be great are not those that walk in with a marine band hailing their greatness; those that will be great are those that serve. The word translated, servant, is the Greek word diakonos. This is a world that is elsewhere translated as minister and is connected with the idea of a slave. Jesus is very clear that those who will lead in his kingdom will be those that serve.
Jesus also says that this pattern of servant leadership was established through himself. Though Jesus is Lord, though Jesus has all the rights and privileges of God, he did not come to be served. Instead, the pattern of living that we find in Jesus is the pattern of service and self sacrifice. So too, Jesus says, is it with those that follow him.
In what ways do you see this contrast between Jesus’ pattern for leadership and the leadership we see in our government? How have you see leadership in the model of Jesus instead of the model of this world? How can you live out this call from Jesus to serve?

Pray. Jesus, you came to show us how to live. Help me to live a life devoted to your service. Guide me in ways that help and encourage other people. Amen.

COMMUNITY PRAYER LIST

Doug Lawson. Collier. Glenn Ethridge. Adam Funderburk. Mary Reber. Linda Harmon. Betty Carolyn Ward. Albert Rasanke. Lois Robinson. Ross Henley. Tiny & Donald Creasman. Bill and Barbara Buchanan. Bonnie Brenner. Baker Family. Robert McKenzie Family. Kibler family. Carolyn Harlow. Jeff Green. Earl Graves. Mickey Huff. Huff & Welch families. Helen Leigh. Paul Huffman. Schools, Teachers, Staff, Parents, Students. Church regathering plans. Layman family. Charlene Withrow. Brandon Casteel. Dirk Orr family. Smith family. Crowder family. Lillard family. Family of Floyd Eaton. Family of Eddie Rynes. Robertson Family. Harmon Family. Nancy Ryan & family. Bobby Roberts. Elizabeth May & family. Melvin Rinehart. Susan Rogers. Brandon Haugh.

FRIDAY - October 23

10/23/2020

Read. Matthew 17:1-6
Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them to the top of a very high mountain. 2 He was transformed in front of them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.
3 Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter reacted to all of this by saying to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good that we’re here. If you want, I’ll make three shrines: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, look, a bright cloud overshadowed them. A voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son whom I dearly love. I am very pleased with him. Listen to him!” 6 Hearing this, the disciples fell on their faces, filled with awe.

Reflect. Although there are always dimensions that remain mysterious, we serve a God who desires to be known. God’s self-revelation, God’s word, comes to us in various ways—through nature (cf. Psalm 19), through inner messages (cf. 1 Kings 19:11-13), through the sweeping story of the Bible (cf. Hebrews 4:12). But most of all, God spoke through Jesus, saying to us as to the disciples on the mount, “Listen to him.”
• Matthew seems to have written his gospel in terms that would speak particularly to Christ-
followers with Hebrew backgrounds. Moses, the great lawgiver, and Elijah, the prototypical prophet, were two people the Hebrews saw as especially reliable. What symbolic point might Matthew have had in mind in reporting God saying of Jesus, in the presence of those two great leaders, “Listen to him”?

When this happened, Peter, James and John (as shown by Peter’s rather inane suggestion—when Luke wrote the story in Luke 9:33, he said Peter “didn’t know what he was saying”) were still struggling to understand what Jesus was all about. In what ways do their later lives as apostles suggest that they did, indeed, “listen” to Jesus? How has “listening” to Jesus changed your life for the better?

Pray. God, you gave the command for us to listen to Jesus. Guide me that I may read the gospels, and the other witnesses to Jesus, more attentively and more personally. Amen.

COMMUNITY PRAYER LIST

Doug Lawson. Collier. Glenn Ethridge. Adam Funderburk. Mary Reber. Linda Harmon. Betty Carolyn Ward. Albert Rasanke. Lois Robinson. Ross Henley. Tiny & Donald Creasman. Bill and Barbara Buchanan. Bonnie Brenner. Baker Family. Robert McKenzie Family. Kibler family. Carolyn Harlow. Jeff Green. Earl Graves. Mickey Huff. Huff & Welch families. Helen Leigh. Paul Huffman. Schools, Teachers, Staff, Parents, Students. Church regathering plans. Layman family. Charlene Withrow. Brandon Casteel. Dirk Orr family. Smith family. Crowder family. Lillard family. Family of Floyd Eaton. Family of Eddie Rynes. Robertson Family. Harmon Family. Nancy Ryan & family. Bobby Roberts. Elizabeth May & family. Melvin Rinehart. Susan Rogers. Brandon Haugh. Sonny Bulloch. Bobby and Joyce Reed. Jerry Plaster. Julie.

Acknowledgement:
Our current teaching series, The Power of Words, was adapted from a series developed by our partners at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection and used with permission. Many of the resources and graphics are provided by our partners. During this series, our Read.Reflect.Pray. guide publishes the daily devotional guide (called Grow, Pray, Study) from our partners with minor adaptation.

THURSDAY - October 22

10/22/2020

Read. Ephesians 6:10-20
10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and his powerful strength. 11 Put on God’s armor so that you can make a stand against the tricks of the devil. 12 We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens. 13 Therefore, pick up the full armor of God so that you can stand your ground on the evil day and after you have done everything possible to still stand. 14 So stand with the belt of truth around your waist, justice as your breastplate, 15 and put shoes on your feet so that you are ready to spread the good news of peace. 16 Above all, carry the shield of faith so that you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word.

18 Offer prayers and petitions in the Spirit all the time. Stay alert by hanging in there and praying for all believers. 19 As for me, pray that when I open my mouth, I’ll get a message that confidently makes this secret plan[a] of the gospel known. 20 I’m an ambassador in chains for the sake of the gospel. Pray so that the Lord will give me the confidence to say what I have to say.

Reflect. We might think the letter to the Ephesians, written from a prison cell (cf. Ephesians 3:1), would call the Romans the great force opposing Christians. But the apostle Paul’s vision was far more cosmic. “We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens,” he wrote. He used the image of soldier’s armor, but the actual spiritual armor he used came into view in verse 18: “Offer prayers ... all the time.”
• To the Ephesians, Paul wrote, “Offer prayers and petitions in the Spirit all the time.” To Christians in Thessalonica, he wrote, “Pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). But Paul clearly led a very active life—he didn’t kneel by his bed all day, every day. What have you found that helps you to go through even busy days in a spirit and attitude of prayer? What value do you see in nurturing a continual connection with God?

What do you make of Paul’s words (which fit well into Roman, Greek and Hebrew views of the universe) about “rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens”? Do you see video beheadings, deceitful invasions and police shootings as just expressions of “human cussedness,” or does there seem to be something bigger and darker at work against God’s kingdom? In what ways do you need spiritual armor to keep you “strengthened by the Lord and his powerful strength”?

Pray. Lord Jesus, at the moments when the darkness of this world seems overwhelming, remind me that your light is greater than the darkness. I pray for your spiritual power to guard me, and fill me with your light. Amen.

COMMUNITY PRAYER LIST

Doug Lawson. Collier. Glenn Ethridge. Adam Funderburk. Mary Reber. Linda Harmon. Betty Carolyn Ward. Albert Rasanke. Lois Robinson. Ross Henley. Tiny & Donald Creasman. Bill and Barbara Buchanan. Bonnie Brenner. Baker Family. Robert McKenzie Family. Kibler family. Carolyn Harlow. Jeff Green. Earl Graves. Mickey Huff. Huff & Welch families. Helen Leigh. Paul Huffman. Schools, Teachers, Staff, Parents, Students. Church regathering plans. Layman family. Charlene Withrow. Brandon Casteel. Dirk Orr family. Smith family. Crowder family. Lillard family. Family of Floyd Eaton. Family of Eddie Rynes. Robertson Family. Harmon Family. Nancy Ryan & family. Bobby Roberts. Elizabeth May & family. Melvin Rinehart. Susan Rogers. Brandon Haugh. Sonny Bulloch. Bobby and Joyce Reed. Jerry Plaster. Julie.

Acknowledgement:
Our current teaching series, The Power of Words, was adapted from a series developed by our partners at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection and used with permission. Many of the resources and graphics are provided by our partners. During this series, our Read.Reflect.Pray. guide publishes the daily devotional guide (called Grow, Pray, Study) from our partners with minor adaptation.

WEDNESDAY - October 21

10/21/2020

Read. Matthew 6:5-15

5 “When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people will see them. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. 6 But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.

7 “When you pray, don’t pour out a flood of empty words, as the Gentiles do. They think that by saying many words they’ll be heard. 8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows what you need before you ask. 9 Pray like this:
Our Father who is in heaven,
uphold the holiness of your name.
10 Bring in your kingdom
so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven.
11 Give us the bread we need for today.
12 Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you,
just as we also forgive those who have wronged us.
13 And don’t lead us into temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
14 “If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your sins.

Reflect. We want all our words, and the meditations of our heart, to be acceptable to God. Perhaps nowhere is that more so than when it comes to the words we speak directly to God, the words we use in prayer. Jesus’ teaching about prayer makes it plain that he did not intend the Lord’s Prayer to be a magic formula recited by rote. Instead, it was a model to guide us into personal, trusting prayer, done not to impress but simply to communicate with God.
• As you think about the Lord’s Prayer as a model, set your typical prayers beside it and
consider which elements of the Lord’s Prayer you often pray. Are there any of the aspects of the Lord’s Prayer that are almost always missing from your other prayers? What ways can you see in which using Jesus’ prayer as a model could deepen and enrich your prayer life?

Jesus’ depiction of people who think their prayers will be heard because they “pour out a flood of empty words” might recall the bizarre, tragic scene of the prophets of Baal “praying” on Mount Carmel (cf. 1 Kings 18:26-29). They saw their god(s) as inattentive, impassive, and needing to be “won over.” How have you learned to trust that God wants to hear you, and you don’t need to impress God by eloquence or lengthy rhetoric?

Pray. God of love and mercy, thank you that in your infinite caring you are always ready to hear me when I pray. Thank you for promising to be with me through all the moments of this day. Amen.

COMMUNITY PRAYER LIST

Doug Lawson. Collier. Glenn Ethridge. Adam Funderburk. Mary Reber. Linda Harmon. Betty Carolyn Ward. Albert Rasanke. Lois Robinson. Ross Henley. Tiny & Donald Creasman. Bill and Barbara Buchanan. Bonnie Brenner. Baker Family. Robert McKenzie Family. Kibler family. Carolyn Harlow. Jeff Green. Earl Graves. Mickey Huff. Huff & Welch families. Helen Leigh. Paul Huffman. Schools, Teachers, Staff, Parents, Students. Church regathering plans. Layman family. Charlene Withrow. Brandon Casteel. Dirk Orr family. Smith family. Crowder family. Lillard family. Family of Floyd Eaton. Family of Eddie Rynes. Robertson Family. Harmon Family. Nancy Ryan & family. Bobby Roberts. Elizabeth May & family. Melvin Rinehart. Susan Rogers. Brandon Haugh. Sonny Bulloch. Bobby and Joyce Reed. Jerry Plaster. Julie.

Acknowledgement:
Our current teaching series, The Power of Words, was adapted from a series developed by our partners at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection and used with permission. Many of the resources and graphics are provided by our partners. During this series, our Read.Reflect.Pray. guide publishes the daily devotional guide (called Grow, Pray, Study) from our partners with minor adaptation.

TUESDAY - October 20

10/20/2020

Read. 1 John 3:15-21
15 Everyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that murderers don’t have eternal life residing in them. 16 This is how we know love: Jesus laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 But if someone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but refuses to help—how can the love of God dwell in a person like that?
18 Little children, let’s not love with words or speech but with action and truth. 19 This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts in God’s presence. 20 Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows all things. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have confidence in relationship to God.

Reflect. John began this passage by echoing what Jesus taught: that feelings and words of hatred toward others are a form of murder (cf. Matthew 5:21-22). Jesus didn’t seek to kill his foes— he laid down his life for them. But then John extended the principle to the words so many of us speak against ourselves (“even if our hearts condemn us”). Those words, too, can kill our spirit, and there, too, God’s mercy is the answer (“God is greater than our hearts”).
• What are the kinds of mistakes or habits that most often trigger self-criticism in you? When you are speaking negative, critical words about yourself, do you find them to be “useful for building up”? Do they “give grace” to you as you listen to your own critical thoughts or words? What better ways have you found to correct and build yourself up than being harshly self-critical?
• Pastors or counselors fairly often hear a person say, “God may forgive me for that,
but I can never forgive myself.” Christian counselor Bruce Narramore, in his book
No Condemnation, noted that if we say that, we seem to think we have higher standards for ourselves than God does! How can you more fully internalize the reality that “God is greater than our hearts,” that you can trust God’s forgiveness more than your own self- condemning feelings?
Pray. Loving God, help not only the words I speak to others, but also the words I speak internally to myself, to be acceptable to you, and in harmony with your gracious words. Amen.

COMMUNITY PRAYER LIST

Doug Lawson. Collier. Glenn Ethridge. Adam Funderburk. Mary Reber. Linda Harmon. Betty Carolyn Ward. Albert Rasanke. Lois Robinson. Ross Henley. Tiny & Donald Creasman. Bill and Barbara Buchanan. Bonnie Brenner. Baker Family. Robert McKenzie Family. Kibler family. Carolyn Harlow. Jeff Green. Earl Graves. Mickey Huff. Huff & Welch families. Helen Leigh. Paul Huffman. Schools, Teachers, Staff, Parents, Students. Church regathering plans. Layman family. Charlene Withrow. Brandon Casteel. Dirk Orr family. Smith family. Crowder family. Lillard family. Family of Floyd Eaton. Family of Eddie Rynes. Robertson Family. Harmon Family. Nancy Ryan & family. Bobby Roberts. Elizabeth May & family. Melvin Rinehart. Susan Rogers. Brandon Haugh. Sonny Bulloch. Bobby and Joyce Reed. Jerry Plaster. Julie.

Acknowledgement:
Our current teaching series, The Power of Words, was adapted from a series developed by our partners at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection and used with permission. Many of the resources and graphics are provided by our partners. During this series, our Read.Reflect.Pray. guide publishes the daily devotional guide (called Grow, Pray, Study) from our partners with minor adaptation.

MONDAY - October 19

10/19/2020

Read. Exodus 20:7
Do not use the Lord your God’s name as if it were of no significance; the Lord won’t forgive anyone who uses his name that way.
Luke 6:46-49
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and don’t do what I say? 47 I’ll show what it’s like when someone comes to me, hears my words, and puts them into practice. 48 It’s like a person building a house by digging deep and laying the foundation on bedrock. When the flood came, the rising water smashed against that house, but the water couldn’t shake the house because it was well built. 49 But those who don’t put into practice what they hear are like a person who built a house without a foundation. The floodwater smashed against it and it collapsed instantly. It was completely destroyed.”

Reflect. Generations of children have grown up learning, at home or in Sunday School, that the third commandment forbids slang phrases that use the names of God or Jesus. Jesus surely didn’t endorse such careless uses of God’s name. He did make it plain, though, that he found it a far more serious sacrilege for a person to claim to follow Jesus while ignoring God’s plain directions for living a God-pleasing life.
• Have you ever been in a community, workplace, school or other setting in which people
who vocally claimed to be “Christians” lied, cheated, willfully hurt others or acted immorally? How did that kind of jarring behavior affect the response of non-religious people to those who claim to be Christ-followers? Since we all struggle to live flawless lives, how can we avoid being like the people Jesus described in Luke 6:46?

It may be a secondary issue, but popular dramas and comedians certainly model the use of phrases like “Oh, God” or “Jesus H. Christ” as throwaway, funny expressions. Think about the meaning of the commandment that says, “Do not use the Lord your God’s name as if it were of no significance.” Monitor your own speech patterns this week, and seek to use God’s name only in important, reverent ways.
Pray. Lord God, when I call you “Lord,” I want to mean it seriously, to shape my life based on your lordship. Guide me in all my choices, of words and actions, to truly make you my Lord. Amen.

COMMUNITY PRAYER LIST

Doug Lawson. Collier. Glenn Ethridge. Adam Funderburk. Mary Reber. Linda Harmon. Betty Carolyn Ward. Albert Rasanke. Lois Robinson. Ross Henley. Tiny & Donald Creasman. Bill and Barbara Buchanan. Bonnie Brenner. Baker Family. Robert McKenzie Family. Kibler family. Carolyn Harlow. Jeff Green. Earl Graves. Mickey Huff. Huff & Welch families. Helen Leigh. Paul Huffman. Schools, Teachers, Staff, Parents, Students. Church regathering plans. Layman family. Charlene Withrow. Brandon Casteel. Dirk Orr family. Smith family. Crowder family. Lillard family. Family of Floyd Eaton. Family of Eddie Rynes. Robertson Family. Harmon Family. Nancy Ryan & family. Bobby Roberts. Elizabeth May & family. Melvin Rinehart. Susan Rogers. Brandon Haugh. Sonny Bulloch. Bobby and Joyce Reed. Jerry Plaster. Julie.

Acknowledgement:
Our current teaching series, The Power of Words, was adapted from a series developed by our partners at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection and used with permission. Many of the resources and graphics are provided by our partners. During this series, our Read.Reflect.Pray. guide publishes the daily devotional guide (called Grow, Pray, Study) from our partners with minor adaptation.

FRIDAY - October 16

10/16/2020

Read. James 4:11-12
11 Brothers and sisters, don’t say evil things about each other. Whoever insults or criticizes a brother or sister insults and criticizes the Law. If you find fault with the Law, you are not a doer of the Law but a judge over it. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, and he is able to save and to destroy. But you who judge your neighbor, who are you?

Reflect. Earlier this week, we read Jesus’ words about the peril of setting ourselves up as judge of other peoples’ hearts and motives (cf. Matthew 7:1-5). The apostle Paul wrote forcefully that we need to trust God to set right what is wrong, rather than trying to do it ourselves (cf. Romans 12:18-21). And James put it bluntly and succinctly: “There is only one lawgiver and judge ... you who judge your neighbor, who are you?”
• In Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White, Pastor Adam Hamilton wrote, “[James’ counsel about our words] does not mean we are not to practice discernment. Nor does it mean that we should remain silent in the face of wrongdoing. Yet we can make known our disagreements with others while doing so in love and with respect for the other.” When have you seen disagreement handled in love and with respect? When have you been able to do that yourself?

As you discuss political candidates, are you ever tempted to use words like “crook,” “weakling,” “drunk,” “womanizer” or “fool” about a candidate when all you really know for sure is that you disagree with one or more of that person’s positions? If you find such words (or dozens of others in the same vein) on the tip of your tongue this fall, remember James’ pointed question: “You who judge your neighbor, who are you?”
Pray. Dear Jesus, you knew about corrupt and unaccountable leaders in your day. But you preached the Kingdom, the rule, of God. Keep me, too, focused on what ultimately matters. Keep me from being bogged down in human bickering. Amen.

COMMUNITY PRAYER LIST

Doug Lawson. Collier. Glenn Ethridge. Adam Funderburk. Mary Reber. Linda Harmon. Betty Carolyn Ward. Albert Rasanke. Lois Robinson. Ross Henley. Tiny & Donald Creasman. Bill and Barbara Buchanan. Bonnie Brenner. Baker Family. Robert McKenzie Family. Kibler family. Carolyn Harlow. Jeff Green. Earl Graves. Mickey Huff. Huff & Welch families. Helen Leigh. Paul Huffman. Schools, Teachers, Staff, Parents, Students. Church regathering plans. Layman family. Charlene Withrow. Brandon Casteel. Dirk Orr family. Smith family. Crowder family. Lillard family. Family of Floyd Eaton. Family of Eddie Rynes. Robertson Family. Harmon Family. Nancy Ryan & family. Bobby Roberts. Elizabeth May & family. Melvin Rinehart. Susan Rogers. Brandon Haugh.

Acknowledgement:
Our current teaching series, The Power of Words, was adapted from a series developed by our partners at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection and used with permission. Many of the resources and graphics are provided by our partners. During this series, our Read.Reflect.Pray. guide publishes the daily devotional guide (called Grow, Pray, Study) from our partners with minor adaptation.

THURSDAY - October 15

10/15/2020

Read. James 4:1-6
What is the source of conflict among you? What is the source of your disputes? Don’t they come from your cravings that are at war in your own lives? 2 You long for something you don’t have, so you commit murder. You are jealous for something you can’t get, so you struggle and fight. You don’t have because you don’t ask. 3 You ask and don’t have because you ask with evil intentions, to waste it on your own cravings.
4 You unfaithful people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world's friend becomes God's enemy. 5 Or do you suppose that scripture is meaningless? Doesn’t God long for our faithfulness in the life he has given to us? 6 But he gives us more grace. This is why it says, God stands against the proud, but favors the humble.
Reflect. James reflected on outward behaviors, but also on their inner sources long before Freud and the birth of modern psychiatry. He saw Romans, Jews and Samaritans fight each other, sometimes with weapons, but even more often with bitter words. He challenged his readers to look inward. Conflict, he said, was (and still is) often rooted not in the noble motives we try to claim for it, but in selfish wishes for more power or wealth than others have.
• When you find yourself harboring negative feelings about a political candidate, do you ever look inside yourself and ask, “What is there in me that this candidate threatens, annoys or frightens?” In what ways can James’ wisdom, encouraging us to recognize the inner sources of conflict, help us to relate in more Christ-like ways, in politics as well as other areas of life?

We know, from American history, that political opponents accused Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt (three fourths of Mount Rushmore!) of being dishonest, trying to destroy freedom, and even more vile personal faults. What can we learn from that history when we are tempted to use, or to agree with, similar slurs aimed toward political candidates in this fall’s elections?

Pray. Heavenly Father, help me to tame my tongue, and the inner fears and insecurities that so often set my tongue off. Thank you for the grace you give me. Help me to respond to it by living ever more faithfully. Amen.

COMMUNITY PRAYER LIST

Doug Lawson. Collier. Glenn Ethridge. Adam Funderburk. Mary Reber. Linda Harmon. Betty Carolyn Ward. Albert Rasanke. Lois Robinson. Ross Henley. Tiny & Donald Creasman. Bill and Barbara Buchanan. Bonnie Brenner. Baker Family. Robert McKenzie Family. Kibler family. Carolyn Harlow. Jeff Green. Earl Graves. Mickey Huff. Huff & Welch families. Helen Leigh. Paul Huffman. Schools, Teachers, Staff, Parents, Students. Church regathering plans. Layman family. Charlene Withrow. Brandon Casteel. Dirk Orr family. Smith family. Crowder family. Lillard family. Family of Floyd Eaton. Family of Eddie Rynes. Robertson Family. Harmon Family. Nancy Ryan & family. Bobby Roberts. Elizabeth May & family. Melvin Rinehart. Susan Rogers. Brandon Haugh.

Acknowledgement:
Our current teaching series, The Power of Words, was adapted from a series developed by our partners at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection and used with permission. Many of the resources and graphics are provided by our partners. During this series, our Read.Reflect.Pray. guide publishes the daily devotional guide (called Grow, Pray, Study) from our partners with minor adaptation.