March 31st, 2007
Saturday’s Reflection
PRAYER LEADS to a loving union with the Holy One but not for private enjoyment. Prayer draws us into unity with Christ, into communion and community. Compassionate action results, growing out of the love of God. We receive the love of God and return that love in grateful devotion. We pray, not to get what we want from God but to consent to what God wants. Prayer expresses relationship, sometimes with words, sometimes deeper than words can express.
- J. David Muyskens
Forty Days to a Closer Walk with God
From page 58 of Forty Days to a Closer Walk with God by J. David Muyskens. Copyright © 2006 by J. David Muyskens. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
This is the day of the LORD’s victory; let us be happy; let us celebrate!
- Psalm 118:24, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for all who need clothing, food, and shelter. Visit the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- So, now you know you are a Lover, Mystic, Prophet, or Sage. (If not, take the Spiritual Types Test.) Did you know that each of the spiritual types has a favorite way to pray? Check it out: Praying as We Are.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Sister Thea Bowman (March 30).
- Lectionary Readings:
- Liturgy of the Palms:
Liturgy of the Passion:
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today
Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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March 30th, 2007
Friday’s Reflection
IN DESERT dryness, a struggle for life,
survival in a barren land.
God speaks against the desert of dishonor,
of ritual and rule and rote, with no Spirit.
And God speaks for true worship
and life flourishing –-
with justice pervasive as splashing mountain waters,
with righteousness flowing as neverending streams.
- Roberta Porter
“Out of the Wilderness”
Alive Now
From page 64 of Alive Now, July/August 2004. Copyright © 2004 by The Upper Room. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. Learn more about or purchase this magazine.
Today’s Scripture Reading
The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all.
- Psalm 118:22, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for all who need clothing, food, and shelter. Visit the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- So, now you know you are a Lover, Mystic, Prophet, or Sage. (If not, take the Spiritual Types Test.) Did you know that each of the spiritual types has a favorite way to pray? Check it out: Praying as We Are.
- Saints, Inc.:
- Today we remember Sister Thea Bowman (March 30).
- Lectionary Readings:
- Liturgy of the Palms:
Liturgy of the Passion:
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today
Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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March 29th, 2007
Thursday’s Reflection
HOW AMAZINGLY the petitions with which we enter prayer are refashioned in the very prayer itself. …
In Christ’s presence you can plead your case with the most measured eloquence, until finally he listens you into silence, into humiliation, into humility, and at last you come into some faint splash of the deep sanity that recalls you to what you are on earth for.
- Douglas V. Steere
Dimensions of Prayer
From page 58 of Dimensions of Prayer by Douglas V. Steere. Copyright © 1997 by Dorothy Steere. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
Jesus said to his disciples, “As you enter [the village], you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.”
- Luke 19:30, NIV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for all who need clothing, food, and shelter. Visit the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- So, now you know you are a Lover, Mystic, Prophet, or Sage. (If not, take the Spiritual Types Test.) Did you know that each of the spiritual types has a favorite way to pray? Check it out: Praying as We Are.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Sister Thea Bowman (March 30).
- Lectionary Readings:
- Liturgy of the Palms:
Liturgy of the Passion:
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today
Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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March 28th, 2007
Wednesday’s Reflection
BY PRAYING with every part of who we are, we allow the grace that pours from the well of living water to trickle through all aspects of our being, nourishing and hydrating that which was parched and dis-eased.
- Daniel Wolpert
Creating a Life with God
From page 159 of Creating a Life with God by Daniel Wolpert. Copyright © 2003 by Daniel Wolpert. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
All created beings in heaven and on earth … will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ.
- Philippians 2:10-11, THE MESSAGE
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for all who need clothing, food, and shelter. Visit the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- So, now you know you are a Lover, Mystic, Prophet, or Sage. (If not, take the Spiritual Types Test.) Did you know that each of the spiritual types has a favorite way to pray? Check it out: Praying as We Are.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Sister Thea Bowman (March 30).
- Lectionary Readings:
- Liturgy of the Palms:
Liturgy of the Passion:
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today
Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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March 27th, 2007
Tuesday’s Reflection
SETBACKS ARE FRIENDS to faith. The difficulties we have in maintaining our discipline remind us — or teach us — that even in our efforts to do good, we need God. Fallible and human, we easily forget this fact when things are going well. On the other hand, when we make mistakes, we remember our humanity and faith. We are merely human, and God is God.
- Sarah Parsons
A Clearing Season
From page 74 of A Clearing Season by Sarah Parsons. Copyright © 2005 by Sarah Parsons. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
I hear the whispering of many — terror all around! — as they scheme together against me. … But I trust in you, O LORD.
- Psalm 31:13-14
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for all who need clothing, food, and shelter. Visit the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- So, now you know you are a Lover, Mystic, Prophet, or Sage. (If not, take the Spiritual Types Test.) Did you know that each of the spiritual types has a favorite way to pray? Check it out: Praying as We Are.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Sister Thea Bowman (March 30).
- Lectionary Readings:
- Liturgy of the Palms:
Liturgy of the Passion:
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today
Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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March 26th, 2007
Monday’s Reflection
LET ME describe what it means to be truly present. Being present involves letting go of our constant preoccupations, immersing ourselves in the here and now, and giving ourselves wholeheartedly to whatever is at hand. … It’s about becoming more aware, alert, awake to the fullness of the immediate moment. If we are with another person, it means engaging with him or her with all of our heart, our mind, our soul, and our strength.
Such wholehearted attention requires patience, time, and disciplined effort. And it is one of the greatest gifts that we can give to those around us, especially our suffering neighbor.
- Trevor Hudson
A Mile in My Shoes
From pages 30-31 of A Mile in My Shoes: Cultivating Compassion by Trevor Hudson. Copyright © 2005 by Trevor Hudson. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.
- Philippians 2:5-6, NIV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for all who need clothing, food, and shelter. Visit the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- So, now you know you are a Lover, Mystic, Prophet, or Sage. (If not, take the Spiritual Types Test.) Did you know that each of the spiritual types has a favorite way to pray? Check it out: Praying as We Are.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Sister Thea Bowman (March 30).
- Lectionary Readings:
- Liturgy of the Palms:
Liturgy of the Passion:
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today
Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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March 25th, 2007
FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT
Sunday’s Reflection
O GOD who frees us from death,
give us courage to live life fully and unashamedly.
When we are entombed, free us.
When we are distracted, help us to focus on life.
When we are obsessed, liberate us.
May we find joy in service to your people.
May we find light in darkness.
May we find life in death. Amen.
- Susan Henry-Crowe
“The Time in Between”
The Upper Room Disciplines 2005
From page 81 of “The Time in Between” by Susan Henry-Crowe in The Upper Room Disciplines 2005. Copyright © 2004 by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
[The Servant said,] “Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.”
- Isaiah 50:7, NIV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for missionaries and their communities. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- What’s your type? Do you approach spirituality through your mind or through your emotions? Are you more interested in serving others or experiencing God in silence? Find out your spiritual type by taking the MethodX Spiritual Types Test.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Cuthbert of Lindisfarne (March 20).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today
Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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March 24th, 2007
Saturday’s Reflection
WE CAN TRUST GOD to form the words in us when we pray. We can trust God to give us the deep desires of the heart that are consistent with the divine will. Without language we can allow the Spirit to pray in us. “The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words” (Rom. 8:26). God knows our needs. In prayer our hearts join with every desire in God’s heart for us and for our world. In Centering Prayer this happens in silence without words. In other times of prayer we put words to our needs as the Spirit makes us aware of them.
- J. David Muyskens
Forty Days to a Closer Walk with God
From page 62 of Forty Days to a Closer Walk with God by J. David Muyskens. Copyright © 2006 by J. David Muyskens. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
[Paul wrote,] “I no longer have a righteousness of my own, … gained by obeying the Law. I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ.”
- Philippians 3:9, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for missionaries and their communities. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- What’s your type? Do you approach spirituality through your mind or through your emotions? Are you more interested in serving others or experiencing God in silence? Find out your spiritual type by taking the MethodX Spiritual Types Test.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Cuthbert of Lindisfarne (March 20).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today
Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Posted in Daily Reflection | 2 Comments »
March 23rd, 2007
Friday’s Reflection
THINK OF SOME SITUATION ahead of you in which you may be in a difficult encounter with another. Ask the living Christ to go ahead of you to prepare that place for you, so that when you get there, in time you will feel the welcome and the special strength God gives. Think of yourself or envision yourself surrounded with God’s light, breathing God’s breath, giving yourself a space for listening, reflecting, then acting out of that center of inner strength. …
Give thanks to God that a deep change already is working within you. God’s gentle, radical power is re-creating you.
- Flora Slosson Wuellner
Forgiveness, the Passionate Journey
From page 62 of Forgiveness, the Passionate Journey by Flora Slosson Wuellner. Copyright © 2001 by Flora Slosson Wuellner. Published by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
[The LORD said,] “Even through the wilderness I shall make a way, and paths in the barren desert.”
- Isaiah 43:19, REB
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for missionaries and their communities. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- What’s your type? Do you approach spirituality through your mind or through your emotions? Are you more interested in serving others or experiencing God in silence? Find out your spiritual type by taking the MethodX Spiritual Types Test.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Cuthbert of Lindisfarne (March 20).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today
Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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March 22nd, 2007
Thursday’s Reflection
JOY AND PEACE come into our lives then, when we mind more about God than we do about ourselves, when we realize what the things that matter really are. The Spirit clears up our problems about what we want or ought to be at, simplifies us and throw us back again and again on the deep and peaceful action of God.
- Evelyn Underhill
The Soul’s Delight
From pages 31-32 of The Soul’s Delight: Selected Writings of Evelyn Underhill, edited by Keith Beasley-Topliffe. Copyright © 1998 by The Upper Room. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.
- Psalm 126:3, NIV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for missionaries and their communities. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- What’s your type? Do you approach spirituality through your mind or through your emotions? Are you more interested in serving others or experiencing God in silence? Find out your spiritual type by taking the MethodX Spiritual Types Test.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Cuthbert of Lindisfarne (March 20).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today
Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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