January 31st, 2008
Thursday’s Reflection
LORD AND LIGHT of the world,
set our hearts on fire
so that we may pass your merciful love,
one to another,
throughout the world.
Amen.
- Hart Ford-Hodges
devozine Magazine
From devozine Magazine, November/December 2002. Copyright © 2002 by The Upper Room. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this magazine.
Prepare for the coming of Lent (February 6). Check out our Lenten Resources.
Today’s Scripture Reading
The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved.
- Psalm 99:1, KJV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for the oppressed — and the oppressors. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Personalizing Scripture: Sometimes we can personalize a passage of scripture by placing our own name in it. Some passages lend themselves to becoming personal prayers as we make ourselves the recipients of God’s Word. Try the practice, Personalizing scripture.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Prudence Crandall (January 28).
- 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 | Comments Off
January 30th, 2008
Wednesday’s Reflection
POTTER GOD,
shape me
and form me
into a vessel
holding your good news.
Amen.
- Alive Now
From p. 55 of Alive Now, September/October 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.
Prepare for the coming of Lent (February 6). Check out our Lenten Resources.
Today’s Scripture Reading
O LORD, our God, you answered your people; you showed them that you are a God who forgives, even though you punished them for their sins.
- Psalm 99:8, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for the oppressed — and the oppressors. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Personalizing Scripture: Sometimes we can personalize a passage of scripture by placing our own name in it. Some passages lend themselves to becoming personal prayers as we make ourselves the recipients of God’s Word. Try the practice, Personalizing scripture.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Prudence Crandall (January 28).
- 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 | Comments Off
January 29th, 2008
Tuesday’s Reflection
WHAT SIGNS INDICATE that we are moving closer to God? Among the possible signs are increased creativity, a strengthened capacity to love, and greater openness to surprise. As you observe yourself …, watch for new creative impulses, which demonstrate that your work has opened creative channels. Pay attention to any newfound abilities to express care for others.
- Sarah Parsons
A Clearing Season: Reflections for Lent
From p. 55 of A Clearing Season: Reflections for Lent by Sarah Parsons. 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.
Prepare for the coming of Lent (February 6). Check out more Lenten Resources.
Today’s Scripture Reading
Jesus took Peter and the brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain. His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes.
- Matthew 17:1, THE MESSAGE
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for the oppressed — and the oppressors. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Personalizing Scripture: Sometimes we can personalize a passage of scripture by placing our own name in it. Some passages lend themselves to becoming personal prayers as we make ourselves the recipients of God’s Word. Try the practice, Personalizing scripture.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Prudence Crandall (January 28).
- 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 | Comments Off
January 28th, 2008
Monday’s Reflection
WHAT DO WE EXPECT in our spirituality? God loves us and comforts us. But God also challenges and directs us. God changes us, if we allow it; and change is never easy. When Moses stood on holy ground, the experience was frightening and life changing.
- Paul E. Stroble
You Gave Me a Wide Place: Holy Places in Our Lives
From p. 34 of You Gave Me a Wide Place by Paul E. Stroble. 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
When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai.
- Exodus 24:15-16, NIV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for the oppressed — and the oppressors. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Personalizing Scripture: Sometimes we can personalize a passage of scripture by placing our own name in it. Some passages lend themselves to becoming personal prayers as we make ourselves the recipients of God’s Word. Try the practice, Personalizing scripture.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Prudence Crandall (January 28).
- 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 | Comments Off
January 27th, 2008
Sunday’s Reflection
THE CHANGES OF OUR LIVES are links in a longer chain. Each link is valuable in its own right, but it also connects to what precedes and what follows. One thing leads to another. As we take one step, we receive enough light to take the next one. And “by stages” we eventually experience the whole journey.
- Steve Harper
Alive Now
From pp. 20-21 of Alive Now, May/June 1998. 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
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined.
- Isaiah 9:2, NRSV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for all who need clothing, food, or 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 Francis de Sales (January 24).
- 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 | Comments Off
January 26th, 2008
Saturday’s Reflection
USE THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD as nature needs them, but not with excessive attachment. For it would be very displeasing to God if you were to set your heart on something of less value than yourself.
- Catherine of Siena
A Life of Total Prayer
From p. 16 of A Life of Total Prayer: Selected Writings of Catherine of Siena, edited by Keith Beasley-Topliffe. Copyright © 2000 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
Hear me, Lord, when I call to you! Be merciful and answer me! When you said, “Come worship me,” I answered, “I will come, Lord.”
- Psalm 27:7-8, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for all who need clothing, food, or 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 Francis de Sales (January 24).
- 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 | Comments Off
January 25th, 2008
Friday’s Reflection
WHEN WE PRAY on behalf of another, we are creating a space for God to use that life as is most appropriate, according to God’s light, not ours. Because of our shared nature with God, in this space our life becomes God’s life: God’s tears, God’s offering, God’s power. We should set God free to work his mysterious love in ways that we should not care to seek to know, if we are rightly focused on God.
- Maggie Ross
“The Space of Prayer”
Weavings Journal
From p. 43 of Weavings Journal, July/August 2007. Copyright © 2007 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
Paul wrote: I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ … be united in the same mind and the same purpose.
- 1 Corinthians 1:10, NRSV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for all who need clothing, food, or 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 Francis de Sales (January 24).
- 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 | Comments Off
January 24th, 2008
Thursday’s Reflection
WORK IS ONE ASPECT of a full human life, but it is not a whole life. We need to think about work, not in isolation but as part of a whole way to live. … For most of us, our work will not be written on our tombstones or remembered by friends after we are gone. But work is important. Work is a way of offering our gifts to others and to God.
- Nancy Pineda-Madrid and Angela Fernández
“Work”
Way to Live: Christian Practices for Teens
From p. 124 of Way to Live: Christian Practices for Teens, edited by Dorothy C. Bass and Don C. Richter. Copyright © 2002 by the editors. 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 went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
- Matthew 4:23, NIV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for all who need clothing, food, or 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 Francis de Sales (January 24).
- 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 | Comments Off
January 23rd, 2008
Wednesday’s Reflection
O GOD, CHANGE my heart. Transform the attitudes from which my actions grow that I may honor you and others in my daily interactions. Amen.
- Mary Lou Redding
The Upper Room Disciplines 2007
From p. 233 of The Upper Room Disciplines 2007. Copyright © 2006 by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this year’s Disciplines.
Today’s Scripture Reading
From that time Jesus began to preach his message: “Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near!”
- Matthew 4:17, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for all who need clothing, food, or 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 Francis de Sales (January 24).
- 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 | Comments Off
January 22nd, 2008
Tuesday’s Reflection
I DON’T IMAGINE God expects us always to respond calmly and lovingly, but I’ve come to believe God wants us to develop awareness of the state of our spirit, for our own sake and the sake of others. And I’ve come to know that God can begin molding any spirit, however cranky, toward better ends than we would devise for ourselves.
- Robert Corin Morris
Wrestling with Grace
From p. 11 of Wrestling with Grace: A Spirituality for the Rough Edges of Daily Life by Robert Corin Morris. 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
One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
- Psalm 27:4, NRSV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for all who need clothing, food, or 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 Francis de Sales (January 24).
- 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 | Comments Off
