8.31.08

Use this weekly prayer to help you begin your time with God each day.

O God, creator of all that is, you are the one who set in motion all that makes us human, and that reality makes us all ultimately part of one family. Open my heart as I read your word this week, and help me grasp that in you I’m related to the whole human family. Amen.

Click here to download a printable version of this week’s GPS

8.30.08

Here are the daily scripture and reflection questions for Saturday. Click on the scripture link below to access today’s reading, then take time to reflect on the questions below.

John 20:19-22, 21:15-17

When John says “Jesus breathed on them,” he wants us to recall Genesis 2:7, where God created life by “breathing” the breath of life into human beings. Our physical life is ultimately of God’s making. How much more, then, is our spiritual life and vitality not something we create, but a gift we receive!

• To a group of people filled with fear, Jesus said, “Peace be with you.” What’s going on in your life that is disrupting your peace? Make it a subject of prayer, and ask God for the gift of heavenly peace, even in the most difficult areas of your life.
• To those who have received spiritual life, Jesus says, “Feed my sheep.” Where are you helping to provide needed food, either physical or spiritual? Don’t fall into the trap of focusing so strongly on spiritual food that you leave people Jesus died for, in Kansas City or in Africa, physically hungry.

8.29.08

Here are the daily scripture and reflection questions for Friday. Click on the scripture link below to access today’s reading, then take time to reflect on the questions below.

John 15:1-8

In this passage, Jesus says there is no such thing as being a Christian without “bearing fruit.” Our connection with Christ will change our life as surely as a branch’s connection to the vine will change the branch.

• “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine,” Jesus said. Are you trying to “bear fruit” by trying harder to do good things on your own? What does it mean for you to “remain in the vine”—how can you strengthen your connection to Jesus?
• What are some realistic ways, in your particular circumstances, that your life can bear fruit in a way that blesses God’s suffering children in Africa? Determine to act on at least one or two of your ideas this week.

8.28.08

Here are the daily scripture and reflection questions for Thursday. Click on the scripture link below to access today’s reading, then take time to reflect on the questions below.

John 14:8-21

Our congregation provides all of the resources to feed and shelter over 500 orphans in Solwezi, Zambia. As you read Jesus’ words, “I will not leave you as orphans” (verse 18), imagine how they must resonate when proclaimed in a setting like Solwezi!

• Jesus speaks here of a continuing closeness with his followers, made possible by the presence of the Holy Spirit. When have you been closest to God? How can you increasingly open yourself to the Spirit’s presence, so that closeness can characterize every day of your life?
• In our scientific culture, sometimes we’re uneasy with the idea of mystery. What parts of this passage (if any) are mysterious, stretching your usual understandings of God? Ask God to deepen your relationship of love and trust through the mysteries, and don’t try to “solve” them too quickly.

8.27.08

Here are the daily scripture and reflection questions for Wednesday. Click on the scripture link below to access today’s reading, then take time to reflect on the questions below.

John 9:1-11

John chapters 1, 8 and 12 also refer to Jesus as the light of the world. In today’s passage, that “light” is not just an image, but a very tangible reality for the man who was born blind. Jesus often relieves physical darkness and blindness to teach us about his power to bring light into all kinds of darkness.

• Make a list of the ways in which Jesus has brought light into your life. (You may want to put the list in your Bible or on a bulletin board as a reminder to yourself.) In your prayer time, express your thanks for the ways you have God’s light in your life.
• Jesus’ disciples expressed the common belief that this man’s blindness must have been a punishment for something bad. Are you ever tempted to feel about those who suffer, in Africa and elsewhere, that “it’s their own fault?” How do Jesus’ words (verse 4) speak to our responsibility to help?

8.26.08

Here are the daily scripture and reflection questions for Tuesday. Click on the scripture link below to access today’s reading, then take time to reflect on the questions below.

John 4:4-14; 7:37-44

On the last day of the feast recorded in John 7, a priest poured out a large pitcher of water on the altar while the people recited Isaiah 12:3 (look it up if you have time). In both of today’s passages, Jesus offers “living water,” a gift that can quench the deepest
thirst in our souls.

• To the woman at the well, Jesus made the extraordinary promise that “those who drink the water I give them will never thirst.” When do you find yourself inwardly “dry” or “thirsty?” In what ways (if any) have you learned to let the living water quench your inner thirst?
• One billion people (roughly one in every six human beings on earth), many in Africa, do not have access to safe drinking water. Reflect on how Jesus must feel about one billion people he loves being unable to drink safely. Is God calling you to respond to this situation in any way? If so, how?

8.25.08

Here are the daily scripture and reflection questions for Monday. Click on the scripture link below to access today’s reading, then take time to reflect on the questions below.

John 6:26-40

This week our readings will focus on some of the gospel of John’s most powerful images describing Jesus’ work as Savior. Be alert for how each image relates to the needs Rev. Hamilton is reporting from his trip to Zambia and South Africa. Today we read that Jesus is the bread of life.

• Just before this passage Jesus, in a remarkable sign of his power, fed 5000 people by multiplying one boy’s small lunch of fish and bread. How did he relate the physical food he provided to the spiritual nourishment he offers us all?
• Jesus describes himself as “the bread that gives life to the world.” How does the spiritual power Jesus gives lead us to provide physical food to hungry people? Why is it important to seek “the bread of life” first and foremost, even before we seek what Jesus called “food that spoils”?

8.24.08

Use this weekly prayer to help you begin your time with God each day.

God, bringer of light, giver of living water, maker of the bread of life—teach me more about who you are, and about your call on my life. There’s a simple African song that says “Jesu, tawo pano,” which means “Jesus, we are here for you.” Keep me “here for you” as I read your word this week. Amen.

Click here to download a printable version of this week’s GPS

8.23.08

Here are the daily scripture and reflection questions for Saturday. Click on the scripture link below to access today’s reading, then take time to reflect on the questions below.

Amos 9:11-15

With God, evil, suffering and even death are never the last word—so even Amos’ stern prophetic message ends with a note of hope! As you read his promises to Israel, reflect on how these words speak to conditions in Zambia and South Africa, as well as how they speak to your own spiritual life.

• Repaired walls, rebuilt cities, getting to eat what you plant—in Bible times, these images all spoke of security and safety. In what area of life do you most long for security and safety? How can the promise of life in God’s eternal kingdom speak to these longings in your heart?
• Amos also points to lavish harvests, and “new wine dripping from the hills”— images of plenty to eat and drink. How do these words offer hope to those who suffer physical hunger and thirst, in Africa and elsewhere? Do they also hold out hope to those who suffer spiritual hunger and thirst?

8.22.08

Here are the daily scripture and reflection questions for Friday. Click on the scripture link below to access today’s reading, then take time to reflect on the questions below.

Amos 7:10 – 8:7

Like many prophets, Amos attracted some dangerous opposition. But he saw his message not just as a personal cause, but as a God-given commission which he took with dead seriousness, whatever the cost. So he kept preaching, even when those in authority ordered him not to.

• Amaziah appears in Amos 7:10 as a religious defender of the status quo, a man mainly interested in protecting his king and his temple from criticism. What forces work to keep you contented with your life “as is”? Where do you sense God calling you to grow deeper in your journey?
• Amos condemns the practice he calls “buying the poor with silver.” What similar practices today (if any) can you think of? He also challenges those who sell “even the sweepings with the wheat”—how do his words speak to the temptation to cut corners in your work, or to sell shoddy goods?