7.10.09

Daily Scripture: Galatians 5:13-23

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵ If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷ For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹ The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

As we end our study of the seven deadly sins, we return to this great passage. Here Paul describes the vast spiritual freedom Christ offers each of us. We can live free of the deadly sins by finding our true selves, led by God’s Spirit, and bearing the Spirit’s fruit. “Against such things there is no law.”

• What have you learned during this series about yourself and your spiritual journey? What changes will you make in order to put your life more fully under the Holy Spirit’s direction? Which of the fruits of the Spirit do you most want God to grow in you during the rest of 2009?
• Like Jesus, Paul quotes Leviticus 19:18 (“Love your neighbor as yourself”) as summing up all of the law. How do the deadly sins keep you from that kind of love for your neighbor? How do the fruits of the Spirit create a way of life in which it is increasingly natural for you to love your neighbor?

Read Darren Lippe’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

O God, thank you for valuing me, even when I struggle to value myself. Help me to love myself as you have loved me. Give me contentment in being the person you’ve made me to be, and in serving you and others the ways I am gifted to do. Then, help me to love my neighbor as I love myself. I thank you that your ways are so much higher and greater than mine. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

7.9.09

Daily Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Love does not envy, Paul writes. How could it? Love does not delight in evil – but one of envy’s worst qualities is the hidden delight we feel when something bad happens to a person we envy. Love keeps no record of wrongs – envy is fixated on keeping score. Love is kind – sadly, envy feels that it can’t afford the luxury of kindness.

• In which of your day-to-day relationships are you able to live out most of the qualities of love that Paul lists readily and easily? In which relationships is it a struggle to show these qualities, even with gritted teeth? How can God’s love help us to grow in our capacity to love more naturally?
• Paul also says that love does not boast and is not self-seeking. Have you ever wished that others would envy something about you or your life? Is it possible that one big reason we are tempted by boasting and self-seeking is a desire to produce envy in others?

Read Correy Trupp’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

O God, thank you for valuing me, even when I struggle to value myself. Help me to love myself as you have loved me. Give me contentment in being the person you’ve made me to be, and in serving you and others the ways I am gifted to do. Then, help me to love my neighbor as I love myself. I thank you that your ways are so much higher and greater than mine. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

7.8.09

Daily Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

¹² Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

¹⁵ Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴ while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Paul described Christians as a “body,” with Jesus Christ as the head. Feet, hands, eyes and internal organs each have a unique role to play in our physical body. God calls you to fill the role(s) in the Body of Christ you are best equipped to fill. Being content with serving as the “body part” you truly are is the best way to find joy and effectiveness.

• Usually we do okay in the body of Christ at living out “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.” We pray for each other and show caring in various ways. What have you experienced as far as “if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it”? How do you feel when someone else is honored, especially if your role feels unseen?
• Paul’s image of jealous, moping body parts (verses 15-18) becomes funny if you try to picture such a thing really happening with your hands or feet. Of course, it WAS really happening among the Christians in Corinth. It’s been happening ever since. When have you seen envy limit a group’s, or a person’s, usefulness?

Read Pastor Russell Brown’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

O God, thank you for valuing me, even when I struggle to value myself. Help me to love myself as you have loved me. Give me contentment in being the person you’ve made me to be, and in serving you and others the ways I am gifted to do. Then, help me to love my neighbor as I love myself. I thank you that your ways are so much higher and greater than mine. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

7.7.09

Daily Scripture: Psalm 23:1-6

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

³ he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.

⁴ Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

This beloved psalm never looks at what anyone else has. It rejoices in the abundance that comes from God’s presence with the psalmist – a reality each of us can experience. Envy, said Aquinas, grieves when something good happens to our neighbor. H. L. Mencken said that in America, “contentment is making $10 a month more than your brother-in-law”!

• Verse 1 is traditionally translated “I shall not want.” Modern versions say, “I have all I need,” or “I lack nothing.” Since this psalm seems to reflect David’s days as a shepherd, rather than as King of Israel, how do you believe it defines “need”? How often can you honestly say you feel that you have all you need?
• Reread verses 4-6. After each phrase, ask yourself, “Is this true of me?” Consider how important of each of these things is, compared to the items at the top of your current personal “wish list.” Thank God for each phrase you have internalized, that you can honestly say you believe.

Read Pastor Penny Ellwood’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

O God, thank you for valuing me, even when I struggle to value myself. Help me to love myself as you have loved me. Give me contentment in being the person you’ve made me to be, and in serving you and others the ways I am gifted to do. Then, help me to love my neighbor as I love myself. I thank you that your ways are so much higher and greater than mine. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

7.6.09

Daily Scripture: Psalm 73:1-26

¹ Surely God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.

² But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.

³ For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴ They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.

⁵ They are free from common human burdens;
they are not plagued by human ills.

⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.

⁷ From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
the evil conceits of their minds know no limits.

⁸ They scoff, and speak with malice;
with arrogance they threaten oppression.

⁹ Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.

¹⁰ Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.

¹¹ They say, “How would God know?
Does the Most High know anything?”

¹² This is what the wicked are like -
always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

¹³ Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.

¹⁴ All day long I have been afflicted,
and every morning brings new punishments.

¹⁵ If I had spoken out like that,
I would have betrayed your children.

¹⁶ When I tried to understand all this,
it troubled me deeply

¹⁷ till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.

¹⁸ Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.

¹⁹ How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!

²⁰ They are like a dream when one awakes;
when you arise, Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.

²¹ When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,

²² I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.

²³ Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.

²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Envy warped this psalmist’s perceptions and nearly led to spiritual ruin. Envy made the lives of others seem ideal – no troubles at all (verses 3-5). Envy looked only at current conditions and made serving God seem futile (verses 11, 13). When the psalmist brought eternity into the picture, life came back into clearer spiritual focus (verses 21-26).

• For this psalmist, it was “the prosperity of the wicked” that nearly caused him to give up faith in God. But envy can also strike when we look at other believers (see Mark 10:35-41). Whose position, possessions or prospects do you envy? When you examine the thoughts behind the envy, do you think they are accurate?
• At what times in your life have you asked, “Does the Most High know anything?” (v. 11) How does the psalmist’s way of resolving envy in verses 21-26 speak to your heart? What have you found that helps you value the eternal over the finite, and the divine over the human?

Read Pastor Andrew Conard’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

O God, thank you for valuing me, even when I struggle to value myself. Help me to love myself as you have loved me. Give me contentment in being the person you’ve made me to be, and in serving you and others the ways I am gifted to do. Then, help me to love my neighbor as I love myself. I thank you that your ways are so much higher and greater than mine. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

7.5.09

Weekly Prayer:

O God, thank you for valuing me, even when I struggle to value myself. Help me to love myself as you have loved me. Give me contentment in being the person you’ve made me to be, and in serving you and others the ways I am gifted to do. Then, help me to love my neighbor as I love myself. I thank you that your ways are so much higher and greater than mine. Amen.

Prayer Tip:

Two kinds of prayer are the essential weapons in the battle against our natural inclination toward envy:  thankfulness and intercession.

To help us treasure our lives and all the blessings we have been given, it is important to offer praise and thanksgiving for those things–the large and the small.  Begin a list in your prayer journal or calendar.  List at least five things you are thankful for every day.  These can be anything from your loved ones to the beauty of a single flower outside your window.  Each day, as you thank God for the blessings and gifts in your life, you will look less and less at other lives in envious comparison.

The second weapon against envy is prayer for others.  Who do you envy?  Pray for that person or persons every day.  Ask God to help you see that person the way God does, with the kind of love that never keeps score, full of kindness and delight in the good things in their life.  When we pray for others God helps us share God’s love with them–the kind of love we can never come up with by ourselves.

–Jennifer Creager, Resurrection Prayer Ministries

Join us for worship today–click here for information on worship times and locations. If you are not in the Kansas City area, you can take part in our worship via live Web stream at live.cor.org.

Download a printable version of this week’s GPS.

7.4.09

Personal Application:
“’Declare it all’ advised the desert fathers, those radical early Christians….Declare it all—every thought, every feeling, every cruel intention, every ignoble desire and holy aspiration. Don’t be afraid to present anything to God…[whose] comprehending, compassionate love knows how to heal your distempers.” (Morris, Provocative Grace) Declare independence from pride by “declaring it all” to God. Get any help you need from a therapist or pastor.

Family Activity:
Read James 4:10. Winning a prize or an award can cause a person to feel very proud. Invite each family member to bring something that symbolizes an accomplishment he or she has achieved. Ask family members to share how they earned their awards and how they felt afterwards. Ask what God’s role was in the process of having achieved each goal. Discuss differences between pride and humility. How does confidence fit in? How can we feel good about reaching goals while embodying a spirit of humility? Ask each family member to set a new, personal goal of some kind. Discuss how we can focus on Christ while working toward a goal. As individuals reach their goals, pray for humility and praise God for each success.

Prayer: O God, you call us to trust you and your plan for our lives. Help us put aside our own prideful planning to seek your will and your wisdom, giving ourselves completely to you so you may be glorified in every aspect of our lives. Amen.

7.3.09

Daily Scripture: 1 Peter 5:1-7

¹To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: ²Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; ³not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

⁵Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” ⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Peter asked early Christian converts (and us) to find the freedom that comes from humility with each other and trust in God. Too often, we’re tempted to link freedom with “I always get my way.” No, says Peter—relate to each other humbly, and trust your anxieties to God. As we mark Independence Day tomorrow, that kind of freedom is worth pondering.

• James 3:13-15 names “bitter envy” and “selfish ambition” as being the reverse of the humility that comes from wisdom. How have you seen pride tend to produce bitter envy or selfish ambition in you or people you know? How does humility guard your heart from these hurtful ways of thinking?
• Is it possible to act with confidence (in a church ministry, your work, your family, or just your own life) out of humility rather than pride? What attitudes or actions do you need to make that a reality? How can mutual humility smooth dealings between followers and leaders?

Read Darren Lippe’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Dear Jesus, you were compassionate with people who saw themselves too often as “being” wrong and bad, as missing the mark. You were honest with people who proudly saw themselves as “being” right and good, always hitting that mark. Be an accurate mirror to me, Lord, reflecting who I am and where I need your grace and instruction in my life. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

7.2.09

Daily Scripture: Philippians 3:3-14

³For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh – ⁴though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

⁷But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Pressing on Toward the Goal
¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Paul didn’t just talk about the humility of Jesus. He was living into that himself. It’s easy to forget that before he met Jesus, Paul had a promising career as a member of the Jewish ruling council. “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done” (verse 7, New Living Translation).

• Though Paul had other lesser goals and dreams (e.g. Romans 15:23-28), what words does he use to express the greatest goal in his life? What changed in his attitudes and his way of living when he made knowing Christ his supreme goal? On your list of personal goals, where does knowing Christ rank?
• Verses 8-9 say “all I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him” (The Message). What basis for self-worth (other than relying on his own accomplishments) did Paul claim? To what extent are you able to find your value where he did?

Read Correy Trupp’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Dear Jesus, you were compassionate with people who saw themselves too often as “being” wrong and bad, as missing the mark. You were honest with people who proudly saw themselves as “being” right and good, always hitting that mark. Be an accurate mirror to me, Lord, reflecting who I am and where I need your grace and instruction in my life. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

7.1.09

Daily Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11

¹If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
⁶Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
⁷but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Verses 6-11 probably quotes a hymn the early Christians used in their worship. The challenge comes in the early part of the passage. Paul didn’t just call us to admire Jesus’ humble spirit. He invited us to change our ways of thinking, to have the “same mind” in us. We can find a new way of “being” as we follow Jesus’ humble, self-emptying pattern.

• Verses 3-4 depict the Christian alternative to “vain conceit” as “in humility valuing others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Would living that way make you feel safe or unsafe? What trust-building steps could help you move toward that ideal in your relationships?
• The gospels show a strong, often forceful Jesus—not the cliché view of “gentle Jesus, meek and mild.” Yet, Paul says Jesus did not view equality with God as something to use for his own advantage. For whose end(s) did Jesus use his equality with God? How did he empty himself, laying aside his divine rights?

Read Pastor Russell Brown’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Dear Jesus, you were compassionate with people who saw themselves too often as “being” wrong and bad, as missing the mark. You were honest with people who proudly saw themselves as “being” right and good, always hitting that mark. Be an accurate mirror to me, Lord, reflecting who I am and where I need your grace and instruction in my life. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.