NEW YEAR’S EVE

Monday’s Reflection

GOD, IN THIS NEW YEAR, may I no longer be my own but yours. Put me to what you will; rank me with whom you will. Put me to doing; put me to suffering. Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you, exalted for you or brought low for you. Let me be full; let me be empty. Let me have all things; let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God — Creator, Redeemer, and Inspirer — you are mine, and I am yours. May this promise that I hereby make on earth be ratified in heaven. Amen.

- W. Paul Jones
An Adaptation of Wesley’s Watchnight Vows
An Eclectic Almanac for the Faithful

From p. 438 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

[The one who sits on the throne] said, “It is done! I am the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

- Revelation 21:6, GNT

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for new beginnings. Visit the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Looking for Christ in the Boring. Read about The Epiphany.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember Simeon Stylites (January 5).

Lectionary Readings:

• Isaiah 60:1-6
• Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
• Ephesians 3:1-12
• Matthew 2:1-12
• Revelation 21:1-6

Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.

Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

Sunday’s Reflection

IN THE FACE of this central Christian mystery, we may be inclined only to stop and adore. But nowhere in the Gospels does Jesus urge us to adore him.

Rather, he calls us to follow him and thereby to partake of his life, his energy, his spirit — living the divine life here and now by participating in the mystery of the Incarnation.

- Michael Downey
Weavings Journal

From p. 29 of Weavings Journal, November/December 1999. Copyright © 1999 by The Upper Room. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this journal.

Today’s Scripture Reading

I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us — yes, the many good things he has done … according to his compassion and many kindnesses.

- Isaiah 63:7, NIV

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for celebration of God-with-Us. Visit the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Don’t put Christmas away too soon. Celebrate all 12 Days of Christmas.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember John (December 27).

Lectionary Readings:

• Isaiah 63:7-9
• Psalm 148
• Hebrews 2:10-18
• Matthew 2:13-23

Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.

Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Saturday’s Reflection

LOVING GOD,
we thank you for the goodness
and acts of kindness
that surround our lives.
May our thanksgiving
be thanks living. Amen.

- Richard Morgan
Settling In

From p. 117 of Settling In: My First Year in a Retirement Community 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

I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord, the deeds for which he is to be praised.

- Isaiah 63:7, NIV

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for celebration of God-with-Us. Visit the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Don’t put Christmas away too soon. Celebrate all 12 Days of Christmas.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember John (December 27).

Lectionary Readings:

• Isaiah 63:7-9
• Psalm 148
• Hebrews 2:10-18
• Matthew 2:13-23

Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.

Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Friday’s Reflection

LISTEN for the Lord is very near! May the sound of his voice draw you closer and closer in obedient love — coming and going, waiting and watching, now and forever. Amen.

- Pamela C. Hawkins
Simply Wait: Cultivating Stillness in the Season of Advent

From p. 89 of Simply Wait: Cultivating Stillness in the Season of Advent by Pamela C. Hawkins. 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

The one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.

- Hebrews 2:11, NRSV

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for celebration of God-with-Us. Visit the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Don’t put Christmas away too soon. Celebrate all 12 Days of Christmas.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember John (December 27).

Lectionary Readings:

• Isaiah 63:7-9
• Psalm 148
• Hebrews 2:10-18
• Matthew 2:13-23

Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.

Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Thursday’s Reflection

THE ANGEL SAID TO THEM, “Do not be afraid; for see — I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
- Luke 2:10-11

Loving Creator,
We give thanks for the birth of joy
in our lives at Christmas.
Let us go forth as messengers
of the good news
of great joy for all people.
Amen.

- Alive Now

From p. 52 of Alive Now, November/December 1999. Copyright © 1999 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] had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God … to get rid of the people’s sins, he would have already experienced it all himself — all the pain, all the testing — and would be able to help where help was needed.

- Hebrews 2:17-18, THE MESSAGE

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for celebration of God-with-Us. Visit the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Don’t put Christmas away too soon. Celebrate all 12 Days of Christmas.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember John (December 27).

Lectionary Readings:

• Isaiah 63:7-9
• Psalm 148
• Hebrews 2:10-18
• Matthew 2:13-23

Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.

Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Wednesday’s Reflection

HOLY INFANT,
we treasure you
and the gift of love
that you bring
to us today.
Amen.

- Beth A. Richardson
Child of the Light

From p. 89 of Child of the Light: Walking through Advent and Christmas by Beth A. Richardson. Copyright © 2005 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

Praise [the LORD], you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created.

- Psalm 148:4-5, NIV

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for celebration of God-with-Us. Visit the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Don’t put Christmas away too soon. Celebrate all 12 Days of Christmas.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember John (December 27).

Lectionary Readings:

• Isaiah 63:7-9
• Psalm 148
• Hebrews 2:10-18
• Matthew 2:13-23

Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.

Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

CHRISTMAS DAY

Tuesday’s Reflection

WE WORSHIP not a hidden God, covered, clothed in mystery, inaccessible. We worship God revealed — a child, born of humble means, forsaking glory to be one of us, one with us, Emmanuel. We worship God reconciling, giving life for us, and raised to new life, calling us by the Spirit to give our lives away for love.

- Alive Now

From cover 2 of Alive Now, November/December 2003. Copyright © 2003 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

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

- John 1:14, NRSV

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for celebration of God-with-Us. Visit the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Don’t put Christmas away too soon. Celebrate all 12 Days of Christmas.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember John (December 27).

Lectionary Readings:

• Isaiah 52:7-10
• Psalm 98
• Hebrews 1:1-12
• John 1:1-14

Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.

Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

CHRISTMAS EVE

Monday’s Reflection

O HOLY NIGHT,
that deepening darkness above and around,
light-pierced and silence-shrouded,
out of which little children are called in
and seeking shepherds are sent out.
O night of nights,
you spread across heaven
and touch the earth,
surrounding God’s people,
capturing us in a moment of holy time,
like a globe protects a precious flicker of Light.
Come,
draw us in,
hold us together
while we wait for the birth of the Light of lights,
the One who will guide us into the world anew. Amen.

- Pamela C. Hawkins
Simply Wait

From p. 104 of Simply Wait: Cultivating Stillness in the Season of Advent by Pamela C. Hawkins. 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

And [Mary] gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

- Luke 2:7, NRSV

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for celebration of God-with-Us. Visit the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Don’t put Christmas away too soon. Celebrate all 12 Days of Christmas.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember John (December 27).

Lectionary Readings:

• Isaiah 9:2-7
• Psalm 96
• Titus 2:11-14
• Luke 2:1-20

Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.

Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Sunday’s Reflection

THE LORD will give you a sign.
Look, the young woman
is with child and shall bear a son,
and shall name him Immanuel.

Liberating God,
teach us
how to refuse the evil
and choose the good. Amen.

- Alive Now

From p. 53 of Alive Now, November/December 2007. Copyright © 2007 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

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

- Matthew 1:24, NIV

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for joy. Visit the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Advent can be a difficult time for those who are lonely or depressed. Read the reflection Darkness and Light.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember Peter Casinius (December 21).

Lectionary Readings:

• Isaiah 7:10-16
• Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
• Romans 1:1-7
• Matthew 1:18-25

Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.

Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Saturday’s Reflection

WE ARE LOVED before we can even utter the desire to be worthy. We do not earn the cloak of beauty that is wrapped around our souls or the wreath of love that God gives each of us.

- Stephanie Ford
Kindred Souls

From p. 30 of Kindred Souls: Connecting through Spiritual Friendship by Stephanie Ford. 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

Restore us, O God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.

- Psalm 80:7, NIV

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for joy. Visit the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Advent can be a difficult time for those who are lonely or depressed. Read the reflection Darkness and Light.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember Peter Casinius (December 21).

Lectionary Readings:

• Isaiah 7:10-16
• Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
• Romans 1:1-7
• Matthew 1:18-25

Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.

Copyright © 2007 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA