April 30th, 2009
Thursday’s Reflection
WE DON’T DECIDE who we are. We discover who we are and decide what to do about it. For those who do not settle for an idealized, self-avoiding image of themselves, life is peppered with ongoing revelations about the real quality of their souls — hopes, dreams, desires, and capacities that sometimes come as a surprise.
- Robert Corin Morris
Wrestling with Grace: A Spirituality for the Rough Edges of Daily Life
From p. 179 of Wrestling with Grace: A Spirituality for the Rough Edges of Daily Life by Robert Corin Morris. Copyright © 2003 by the author. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission of Upper Room Books. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question
What is your experience of discovering who you are? Share your thoughts.
Today’s Scripture Reading
Jesus is the one of whom the scripture says, “The stone that you the builders despised turned out to be the most important of all.”
- Acts 4:11, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for church committees, conferences, councils. 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 Athanasius (May 1).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Posted in Daily Reflection | 13 Comments »
April 29th, 2009
Wednesday’s Reflection
BEFORE WE CAN ACT like Jesus, we have to think like Jesus. Reflecting on and studying Jesus’ priorities challenges us first to change our way of thinking. The priorities call us to see the world as Jesus sees it. When we begin to perceive our world as Jesus does, we will be motivated — even compelled — to act like Jesus, to cultivate the habits he molded.
- Christopher Maricle
The Jesus Priorities: 8 Essential Habits
From p. 20 of The Jesus Priorities by Christopher Maricle. Copyright © 2007 by the author. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission of Upper Room Books. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question
Tell us — what are your thoughts about today’s reflection? Visit the comments area.
Today’s Scripture Reading
I am the good shepherd. As the Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they know me.
- John 10:14-15, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for church committees, conferences, councils. 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 Athanasius (May 1).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Posted in Daily Reflection | 10 Comments »
April 28th, 2009
Tuesday’s Reflection
BECAUSE THIS BEAUTIFUL, comforting psalm [Psalm 23] is very familiar, you may be inclined to rush past it. Instead, try to savor the words through the practice of divine reading — reading scripture slowly and listening for what speaks to you. Read the psalm; then close your Bible and try to recite it from memory. Pause after each verse. Listen for a word or phrase that seems to speak to you. Note the word or words on this page. Perhaps “my shepherd” or “still waters” or “my cup overflows” catches your attention. Let the images or feelings that emerge rest gently on your heart. What is God inviting you to think or pray about today?
- Meeting God in Scripture: Entering the Old Testament
From p. 45 of Meeting God in Scripture: Entering the Old Testament , Participant’s workbook. Copyright © 2007 by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question
What is your favorite verse of Psalm 23? What is God inviting you to think about/pray about today. Share your thoughts.
Today’s Scripture Reading
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
- Psalm 23:1, NIV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for church committees, conferences, councils. 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 Athanasius (May 1).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Posted in Daily Reflection | 12 Comments »
April 27th, 2009
Monday’s Reflection
LITURGIES CAN … integrate faith with emotions, because we learn that God is with us in our emotional reactions, no matter how unsavory they may be. Even when we have faith, for example, that God gives a new life after death, when a loved one dies, we are still flattened with grief and a devastating sense that the loved one is forever lost to us. We may be angry at God, unable to pray, and feel spiritually dead. A personalized funeral that remembers the life of our loved one and declares the promise of eternal life can be a great comfort. The liturgy takes us to a place what we cannot go by ourselves. The result can be greatly deepened, grounded, and integrated faith that even in times of greatest despair, God is still with us.
- Tilda Norberg
Gathered Together: Creating Personal Liturgies for Healing and Transformation
From p. 30 of Gathered Together: Creating Personal Liturgies for Healing and Transformation by Tilda Norberg. Copyright © 2007 by the author. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission of Upper Room Books. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question
Share a time when a ritual or liturgy has been helpful to you. Visit the comments area.
Today’s Scripture Reading
Peter said, “This man stands here before you completely well through the power of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.”
- Acts 4:10, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for church committees, conferences, councils. 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 Athanasius (May 1).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Posted in Daily Reflection | 7 Comments »
April 26th, 2009
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
Sunday’s Reflection
GOD WORKS amazingly
in our lives,
and the gift of friendship
can be found anywhere
if we keep our hearts open.
- Celeste Rossetto Dickey
Alive Now
From p. 18 of Alive Now, January/February 1999. Copyright © 1998 by The Upper Room. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this magazine.
Today’s Question
Tell us — where are you finding “the gift of friendship” today? Share your thoughts.
Today’s Scripture Reading
See, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.
- Luke 24:49, NRSV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for healing of all creation. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Lectio Divina, or divine reading, is one of the most central and ancient practices of Christian prayer. Try lectio divina in your meditation time this week. Check it out.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Mark the Evangelist (April 25).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Posted in Daily Reflection | 9 Comments »
April 25th, 2009
Saturday’s Reflection
GRACIOUS LORD, strength of the weak and ever-present help in time of need: grant me the grace to trust you in all things and to find you present in every circumstance, for my heart will never find perfect peace or full contentment until it rests in you. Amen.
- Paul Wesley Chilcote
A Life-Shaping Prayer: 52 Meditations in the Wesleyan Spirit
From p. 47 of A Life-Shaping Prayer: 52 Meditations in the Wesleyan Spirit by Paul Wesley Chilcote. Copyright © 2008 by the author. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission of Upper Room Books. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question
What challenges do you face in “trusting God in all things”? Share your thoughts.
Today’s Scripture Reading
The psalmist wrote, “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”
- Psalm 4:8, NIV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for healing of all creation. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Lectio Divina, or divine reading, is one of the most central and ancient practices of Christian prayer. Try lectio divina in your meditation time this week. Check it out.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Mark the Evangelist (April 25).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Posted in Daily Reflection | 12 Comments »
April 24th, 2009
Friday’s Reflection
THE CLASSIC DEFINITION of humility offered by Teresa of Ávila is to walk in the truth of who we are. This means accepting our weaknesses and our limitations as gifts of God as well as our strengths and talents. Given that definition, what does walking in the truth mean for you? How can you regard yourself as God regards you? How can you become more grateful for the way God has created you — in light of both your strengths and weaknesses? Meditate on these words and let them give you the courage to fulfill your calling as a minister of the new covenant. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
- Meeting God in Scripture: Entering the New Testament
From p. 53 of Meeting God in Scripture: Entering the New Testament , Participant’s workbook. Copyright © 2008 by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question
What does “walking in the truth” mean to you? Share your thoughts.
Today’s Scripture Reading
My dear children, don’t let anyone divert you from the truth. It’s the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah.
- 1 John 3:7, THE MESSAGE
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for healing of all creation. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Lectio Divina, or divine reading, is one of the most central and ancient practices of Christian prayer. Try lectio divina in your meditation time this week. Check it out.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Mark the Evangelist (April 25).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Posted in Daily Reflection | 8 Comments »
April 23rd, 2009
Thursday’s Reflection
PRAYER CAN TAKE FORMS as diverse as any human relationship: talking, listening, acting, being. Prayer may be physical only (lifting arms to the sky, kneeling, curling up on a bed); prayer may be listening (noticing the words, images, feelings that God gives you.); prayer may be action (helping a friend); or prayer may be just being (sitting and enjoying God’s presence in the world).
- Mark Yaconelli with Alexx Campbell
“Prayer”
Way to Live: Christian Practices for Teens
From p. 280 of Way to Live: Christian Practices for Teens, edited by Dorothy C. Bass and Don C. Richter. Copyright © 2002 by the authors. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission of Upper Room Books. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question
What are the forms of your prayer? Share your thoughts.
Today’s Scripture Reading
[Jesus] said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you — that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.”
- Luke 24:44, NRSV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for healing of all creation. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Lectio Divina, or divine reading, is one of the most central and ancient practices of Christian prayer. Try lectio divina in your meditation time this week. Check it out.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Mark the Evangelist (April 25).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Posted in Daily Reflection | 6 Comments »
April 22nd, 2009
INTERNATIONAL EARTH DAY
Wednesday’s Reflection
PRAISE TO YOU, my God and Creator!
Your creativity is matched by your compassion!
Today is a new day in the life of creation.
Let me see and hear,
taste, touch, and smell
the thrill of your grace
the pulse of the Spirit
in and through all creation.
- Sam Hamilton-Poore
Earth Gospel: A Guide to Prayer for God’s Creation
From p. 50 of Earth Gospel by Sam Hamilton-Poore. Copyright © 2008 by the author. Used with permission of Upper Room Books. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question
Share your thoughts on today’s reflection. Or tell us — How are you observing Earth Day? Visit the comments area.
Today’s Scripture Reading
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.
- 1 John 3:1, NRSV
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for healing of all creation. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Lectio Divina, or divine reading, is one of the most central and ancient practices of Christian prayer. Try lectio divina in your meditation time this week. Check it out.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Mark the Evangelist (April 25).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Posted in Daily Reflection | 4 Comments »
April 21st, 2009
HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY
Tuesday’s Reflection
THE THING THAT SUFFERS most in our hurried lives is relationships: relationships with our families, relationships with friends, relationships within our faith communities, and relationship with God. There just is not time to sit down and talk with one another, to share our stories and concerns, to listen for the whisper of God’s voice. Since God made us for relationship — with God, with ourselves, with one another and with the creation — it is counter to God’s plan for us not to take care of this basic foundation of our lives. God made us so that in the deepest part of our being, we long to be joined together in community.
- Nancy Ferguson
Retreats for Renewal: 5 Models for Intergenerational Weekends
From p. 9 of Retreats for Renewal: 5 Models for Intergenerational Weekends by Nancy Ferguson. Copyright © 2008 by Discipleship Resources. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question
Tell us — how do you make time for community, for honoring that “longing to be joined together”? Share your reflections.
Today’s Scripture Reading
Repent … and turn to God, so that [God] will forgive your sins.
- Acts 3:19, GNT
This Week …
- Special Need:
- This Week: Pray for healing of all creation. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.
- Tips for Your Spirit:
- Lectio Divina, or divine reading, is one of the most central and ancient practices of Christian prayer. Try lectio divina in your meditation time this week. Check it out.
- Saints, Inc.:
- This week we remember Mark the Evangelist (April 25).
- Lectionary Readings:
-
Sponsored by The Upper Room daily devotional guide. Subscribe Today.
Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
Posted in Daily Reflection | 14 Comments »
