May 9th, 2008
Friday’s Reflection
GOD OF THE GOOD NEWS,
in the fullness of my life,
empty me of distractions.
Still my busyness.
Quiet my chatter.
Sing your song of grace to me
until the tune rings
in the core of my being
and my life resonates
with your good news.
- Alive Now
From p. 36 of Alive Now, November/December 2000. Copyright © 2000 by The Upper Room. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this magazine.
Today’s Scripture Reading
On the final and climactic day of the Feast, Jesus took his stand. He cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”
- John 7:37, THE MESSAGE
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for mothers and other women of nurture. Visit the Prayer Wall.
- Struggling with Pain? Learning to live with disease or distress can be a challenge. Read Meditation for Distress, Disease, or Pain.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember John of Avila (May 10).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2008 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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May 8th, 2008
Thursday’s Reflection
WE MUST BE OPEN to letting God change us. Inner change is not just a do-it-yourself job. We all know what usually happens when we grit our teeth, clench our knuckles, and try to change ourselves through our own efforts. We come up short. While there might be some outward changes for a brief time, before long our true character shows itself again. We need some kind of power from outside ourselves. …
The wonderful news is that God actually wants to help us become better persons.
- Trevor Hudson
One Day at a Time: Discovering the Freedom of 12-Step Spirituality
From p. 65 of One Day at a Time by Trevor Hudson. Copyright © 2007 by the author. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
On the final and climactic day of the Feast, Jesus took his stand. He cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”
- John 7:37, THE MESSAGE
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for mothers and other women of nurture. Visit the Prayer Wall.
- Struggling with Pain? Learning to live with disease or distress can be a challenge. Read Meditation for Distress, Disease, or Pain.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember John of Avila (May 10).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2008 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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May 7th, 2008
Wednesday’s Reflection
CULTIVATING COMPASSION can be costly. …
All human loyalties are reordered by the way of the cross. … Loyalty that is cross-shaped calls us to love our enemies instead of harming them. Cruciform loyalty calls us to stand in solidarity with people throughout the world, regardless of national boundaries or corporate interests. Cruciform loyalty calls us to acts of risky compassion.
- Don C. Richter
Mission Trips That Matter: Embodied Faith for the Sake of the World
From pp. 45-46 of Mission Trips That Matter by Don C. Richter. Copyright © 2008 by the author. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
- 1 Corinthians 12:13, NIV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for mothers and other women of nurture. Visit the Prayer Wall.
- Struggling with Pain? Learning to live with disease or distress can be a challenge. Read Meditation for Distress, Disease, or Pain.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember John of Avila (May 10).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2008 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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May 6th, 2008
Tuesday’s Reflection
GOD, YOU ARE INDEED A SCULPTOR and a musician at heart. Standing on your snowy peaks, I hear the timpani of your thundering waterfalls and the breeze in the pine trees as your woodwinds. Don’t get me wrong, I love exploring cities; but without the wilderness, I drown in noise. Amen.
- W. Paul Jones
An Eclectic Almanac for the Faithful
From p. 430 of An Eclectic Almanac for the Faithful by W. Paul Jones. Copyright © 2006 by the author. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
- 1 Corinthians 12:4-5, NIV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for mothers and other women of nurture. Visit the Prayer Wall.
- Struggling with Pain? Learning to live with disease or distress can be a challenge. Read Meditation for Distress, Disease, or Pain.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember John of Avila (May 10).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2008 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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May 5th, 2008
Monday’s Reflection
PRAYER IS DIFFICULT. It is not the techniques that are hard — most of the techniques are amusingly easy. Rather the difficulty lies in following through on the commitment to pray in the face of distractions that bear down on us or pick at us like annoying bugs, driving us away from the presence of God.
- Daniel Wolpert
Creating a Life with God: The Call of Ancient Prayer Practices
From p. 27 of Creating a Life with God by Daniel Wolpert. Copyright © 2003 by the author. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
This is what I will do in the last days, God says: I will pour out my Spirit on everyone.
- Acts 2:17, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for mothers and other women of nurture. Visit the Prayer Wall.
- Struggling with Pain? Learning to live with disease or distress can be a challenge. Read Meditation for Distress, Disease, or Pain.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember John of Avila (May 10).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2008 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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May 4th, 2008
SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER
Sunday’s Reflection
THE PURPLE LUPINE in my garden grew
recklessly, uncontrollably,
and because I didn’t prune, the flourishing
cut off light to nearby seedlings.
I want to learn from the lupine,
and pray: Lord, in my life
show me what needs to be pared back,
released, relinquished,
so your light shining to me
shines through me,
and nothing is diminished.
Amen.
- Roberta Porter
Alive Now magazine
From p. 5 of Alive Now magazine, March/April 2001. Copyright © 2001 by The Upper Room. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this magazine.
Today’s Scripture Reading
Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage when it languished; your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
- Psalm 68:9-10, NRSV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for church communities, conferences, councils. Visit the Prayer Wall.
- In his Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius urged that all be taught the examen, a daily examination of our deepest feelings and desires. Try a daily Examen.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Athanasius (May 1).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2008 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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May 3rd, 2008
Saturday’s Reflection
GOD,
forgive my faults
and re-create me
in your love,
through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
- Marianna K. Neal
devozine magazine
From devozine magazine, November/December 2004. Copyright © 2004 by The Upper Room. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this magazine.
Today’s Scripture Reading
Jesus prayed, “Eternal life means to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent.”
- John 17:3, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for church communities, conferences, councils. Visit the Prayer Wall.
- In his Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius urged that all be taught the examen, a daily examination of our deepest feelings and desires. Try a daily Examen.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Athanasius (May 1).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2008 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Posted in Daily Reflection | No Comments »
May 2nd, 2008
Friday’s Reflection
MORE URGENTLY THAN EVER BEFORE, the biblical mandate to “show hospitality to strangers” (Heb. 13:2) summons us to create a world where nonuniformity breeds not estrangement but engagement. Every encounter, however small, which forms grace-filled links between diverse groups is part of that effort.
- Robert Corin Morris
Provocative Grace: The Challenge in Jesus’ Words
From p. 99 of Provocative Grace by Robert Corin Morris. Copyright © 2006 by the author. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.
- Acts 1:11, NIV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for church communities, conferences, councils. Visit the Prayer Wall.
- In his Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius urged that all be taught the examen, a daily examination of our deepest feelings and desires. Try a daily Examen.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Athanasius (May 1).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2008 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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May 1st, 2008
Thursday’s Reflection
ALMIGHTY GOD, someway, somehow, help us fix our minds and hearts to see the world as you see it, to see ourselves as you see us, and to see the men and women, the soldiers and families across the line of combat as you see them. Then nudge us in the direction you would have us take. Amen.
- Jim Melchiorre
Novena in Time of War: Soul-Searching Prayers and Meditations
From p. 19 of Novena in Time of War by Jim Melchiorre. Copyright © 2007 by the author. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
Jesus prayed, “Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life that you conferred as a gift through me, so they can be one heart and mind as we are one heart and mind.”
- John 17:11, THE MESSAGE
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for church communities, conferences, councils. Visit the Prayer Wall.
- In his Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius urged that all be taught the examen, a daily examination of our deepest feelings and desires. Try a daily Examen.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Athanasius (May 1).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2008 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Posted in Daily Reflection | No Comments »
April 30th, 2008
Wednesday’s Reflection
FROM OUR BLINDNESS that cannot see the pain in others’ lives, from our fears that distance us from others, from our indifference that cannot relate to others’ suffering, deliver us, O God. Amen.
- Richard Morgan
Settling In: My First Year in a Retirement Community
From p. 141 of Settling In by Richard Morgan. Copyright © 2006 by the author. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
Be glad that you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may be full of joy when his glory is revealed.
- 1 Peter 4:13, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for church communities, conferences, councils. Visit the Prayer Wall.
- In his Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius urged that all be taught the examen, a daily examination of our deepest feelings and desires. Try a daily Examen.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Athanasius (May 1).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2008 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Posted in Daily Reflection | No Comments »
