August 31st, 2007
Friday’s Reflection
PAIN AND SORROW are never wasted when given into God’s hands, and their transformation is far beyond our imaginings. But in this life, we will experience a poignancy, a regret that harm was done when our actions could have been different. This poignancy is a valid, healthy part of our journey of release. The deepest comfort in our mourning is to know that God not only has compassion but actually feels our suffering with us. Jesus tells us that not even a tiny sparrow will fall to the ground “apart from your Father” (Matthew 10:29). To me this means that God’s heart so enfolds and unites with the sparrow (and with us) that the suffering of the tiny creature is shared, felt by that supreme heart. The creature’s suffering resounds through God’s whole being.
- Flora Slosson Wuellner
Forgiveness, the Passionate Journey
From pages 46-47 of Forgiveness, the Passionate Journey by Flora Slosson Wuellner. Copyright © 2001 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
Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them. Remember those who are suffering, as though you were suffering as they are.
- Hebrews 13:3, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for peace. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Centering Prayer is a way of praying that goes deeper than verbal communication. Try a Centering Prayer exercise.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Aidan of Lindisfarne (August 31).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
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Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
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August 30th, 2007
Thursday’s Reflection
THE MESSAGE of God’s grace
builds poverty of spirit,
yet enriches all whom it touches
with an inheritance
surpassing our most extravagant dreams.
- John S. Mogabgab
“Editor’s Introduction”
Weavings
From Weavings, January/February 2000, page 3. Copyright © 1998 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
Those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great.
- Luke 14:11, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for peace. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Centering Prayer is a way of praying that goes deeper than verbal communication. Try a Centering Prayer exercise.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Aidan of Lindisfarne (August 31).
- 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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August 29th, 2007
Wednesday’s Reflection
THE SYMBOLISM and power of the Eucharist change how we think about food, the breaking of bread, and who is welcome at the table. Once we have broken bread at the Lord’s table, we cannot help but take bread out to those who have no bread at all. At the Lord’s table, there is plenty of elbow room. We find ourselves sitting next to those who would normally be strangers. The hungry find themselves filled. The family of Christ shares fully in their father’s board.
- James C. Howell
Yours Are the Hands of Christ
From Yours Are the Hands of Christ by James C. Howell. Copyright © 1998 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
Do not neglect to show hospitality; by doing this, some have entertained angels unawares.
- Hebrews 13:2, REB
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for peace. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Centering Prayer is a way of praying that goes deeper than verbal communication. Try a Centering Prayer exercise.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Aidan of Lindisfarne (August 31).
- 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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August 28th, 2007
Tuesday’s Reflection
PRAYER BRINGS ABOUT a turning of the heart to God, who is ever ready to give, if we will but take what God has given. And in the very act of turning, there is effected a cleansing of the inner eye. The things of a temporal kind that were desired are excluded, so that the vision of the pure heart may be able to bear the pure light, divinely shining, without any setting or change — and not only to bear it, but also to remain in it, not merely without annoyance, but also with indescribable joy, in which a life truly and sincerely blessed is perfected.
- Augustine
Hungering for God
From page 68 of Hungering for God: Selected Writings of Augustine edited by Keith Beasley-Topliffe. Copyright © 1997 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
God said, “How I wish my people would listen to me; how I wish they would obey me!”
- Psalm 81:13, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for peace. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Centering Prayer is a way of praying that goes deeper than verbal communication. Try a Centering Prayer exercise.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Aidan of Lindisfarne (August 31).
- 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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August 27th, 2007
Monday’s Reflection
JESUS MAY BE God Incarnate, Lord of all creation, Emmanuel, Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Coming Messiah, Light of life, and so on, but the Master himself deliberately engaged his public ministry here on earth by surrounding himself with a small covenant group … who knew and loved God. How much more should we place ourselves in the company of fellow believers?
- Derek Maul
Get Real: A Spiritual Journey for Men
From page 73 of Get Real: A Spiritual Journey for Men by Derek Maul. 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
Do not forget to do good and to help one another.
- Hebrews 13:16, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for peace. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Centering Prayer is a way of praying that goes deeper than verbal communication. Try a Centering Prayer exercise.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Aidan of Lindisfarne (August 31).
- 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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August 26th, 2007
Sunday’s Reflection
CULTURE’S MESSAGE is immediate fulfillment, gratification. But when I hungrily seek control in my power, with my plans, I am full, brimming over with empty calories, and strangely unfulfilled. I pray to be broken open — unafraid of change — and pour out pride. My Spirit fast teaches me as I am willing to yield, more space for grace appears, and more of Christ, Bread of Life, is revealed.
- Roberta Porter
“Broken Open”
Alive Now
From page 48 of Alive NowMarch/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
The LORD said to [ Jeremiah], “Do not say that you are too young, but go to the people I send you to, and tell them everything I command you to say. Do not be afraid of them, for I will be with you.”
- Jeremiah 1:7-8, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for students, teachers, and school officials. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Praying with Eyes Open. Many of us were taught to close our eyes when we pray. Praying with icons is an ancient prayer practice that involves keeping our eyes wide open, taking into our heart what the image visually communicates. Try praying with icons.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Bernard of Clairvaux (August 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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August 25th, 2007
Saturday’s Reflection
WHEN WE PRAY BY HEART, our attention on God moves from the mind to the heart, allowing our hearts to pray for us. We are no longer in charge. Rather, we give ourselves over to the Holy Spirit and experience the wisdom Paul refers to in his letter to the Roman Christians: “For we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words” (8:26).
- Jane E. Vennard with Stephen D. Bryant
The Way of Prayer
From page 38 of The Way of Prayer by Jane E. Vennard with Stephen D. Bryant. Copyright © 2006 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 to me a rock of refuge to which at all times I may come … You are my rock and stronghold.
- Psalm 71:3, REB
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for students, teachers, and school officials. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Praying with Eyes Open. Many of us were taught to close our eyes when we pray. Praying with icons is an ancient prayer practice that involves keeping our eyes wide open, taking into our heart what the image visually communicates. Try praying with icons.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Bernard of Clairvaux (August 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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August 24th, 2007
Friday’s Reflection
GOD, LET US COUNT the ways you never leave us. Your Light of Day greeted us this morning. The smell of life filled our nostrils with the crisp, chilly air of a new day. The melody of gently crackling leaves whispered your love in our ears. These are among the Good Morning gifts we thank you for. You have given us another day in your Precious Presence.
Come what may this day: angry traffic, angry words, paved roads, paved ways, we will praise your Holy Name! And so we greet you this day with shouts of joy and thanksgiving. Amen.
- Sherrie Dobbs Johnson
The Africana Worship Book
From page 77 of The Africana Worship Book: Year A edited by Valerie Bridgeman Davis and Safiyah Fosua. Copyright © 2006 by Discipleship Resources. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Scripture Reading
You are my hope, LORD God, my trust since my childhood.
- Psalm 71:5, REB
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for students, teachers, and school officials. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Praying with Eyes Open. Many of us were taught to close our eyes when we pray. Praying with icons is an ancient prayer practice that involves keeping our eyes wide open, taking into our heart what the image visually communicates. Try praying with icons.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Bernard of Clairvaux (August 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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August 23rd, 2007
Thursday’s Reflection
I HAVE EXPERIENCED times in my prayer life when mind and spirit seemed more awash in questions rather than answers. More than once I have taken those times as indicators that I was not praying “right” or with a proper spirit. If only I could trust more, or if only I could clear out whatever in me was forming these questions. … But many times, if not most, questions do not arise from our weakness nor do they signal bad faith. They arise simply from the events that lead us to prayer. Some questions come from the heart of God speaking to our hearts. …
What we do with the questions that arise in prayer is our challenge. … Questions that come in prayer call for expression and invite reflection. They stir in us new possibilities, even if for the moment they bewilder us with uncertainties.
- John Indermark
Traveling the Prayer Paths of Jesus
From page 26 of Traveling the Prayer Paths of Jesus by John Indermark. Copyright © 2003 by John Indermark. 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
Jeremiah said, “Sovereign LORD, I don’t know how to speak; I am too young.”
- Jeremiah 1:6, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for students, teachers, and school officials. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Praying with Eyes Open. Many of us were taught to close our eyes when we pray. Praying with icons is an ancient prayer practice that involves keeping our eyes wide open, taking into our heart what the image visually communicates. Try praying with icons.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Bernard of Clairvaux (August 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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August 22nd, 2007
Wednesday’s Reflection
WE CAN REMIND one another that we are God’s beloved. We have been formed and created by God in our mother’s wombs. We are known by name. Our names have been carved into the crucified hands of God. We are loved with an everlasting love. There is nothing in all creation, nothing in this world or the next, that can ever separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ. Nothing. When we know that we are God’s beloved, we have embarked on the journey toward an authentic Christian spirituality.
- Trevor Hudson and Stephen D. Bryant
The Way of Transforming Discipleship
From page 26 of The Way of Transforming Discipleship by Trevor Hudson and Stephen D. Bryant. Copyright © 2005 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
The Lord said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
- Jeremiah 1:5, NRSV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for students, teachers, and school officials. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Praying with Eyes Open. Many of us were taught to close our eyes when we pray. Praying with icons is an ancient prayer practice that involves keeping our eyes wide open, taking into our heart what the image visually communicates. Try praying with icons.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Bernard of Clairvaux (August 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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