Wednesday’s Reflection

WHAT ARE THE HARD TRUTHS to tell in your life?
What are you not willing to lie about?
With whom do you always want to be truthful?
What are you willing to endure for the sake of truthfulness?

- Melissa Wiginton with Betsy Crowe
“Truth”
Way to Live: Christian Practices for Teens

From p. 166 of Way to Live: Christian Practices for Teens, edited by Dorothy C. Bass and Don C. Richter. Copyright © 2002 by the editors. 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

Reflect on the questions in today’s reading. Share your answers as you feel led.

Today’s Scripture Reading

Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.

- Psalm 26:2-3, NIV

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for the sacraments and those who receive them. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Many Ways to Pray. Think of the Ignatian Method — named after Ignatius of Loyola — as a sort of virtual experience of the scripture where you read the scripture and then create in your mind a short film about what you read. Try the Ignatian Method.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember Jerome (September 30).

Lectionary Readings:

• Job 1:1; 2:1-10
• Psalm 26
• Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
• Mark 10:2-16

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

Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Tuesday’s Reflection

WHAT DOES THE LORD REQUIRE of followers? The Lord requires gratitude. And for those of us in the Christian tradition, Jesus wants our gratitude to increase more and more until, like a holy flame, it burns within us and we burst into songs and deeds of thankfulness to God and neighbor. To express genuine gratitude to God, our deeds must demonstrate our love, trust, and service.

- Beauty Maenzanise
The Upper Room Disciplines 2010: A Book of Daily Devotions

From p. 109 of The Upper Room Disciplines 2010. Copyright © 2009 by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

How do you express gratitude to God? Share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture Reading

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son.

- Hebrews 1:1, NRSV

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for the sacraments and those who receive them. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Many Ways to Pray. Think of the Ignatian Method — named after Ignatius of Loyola — as a sort of virtual experience of the scripture where you read the scripture and then create in your mind a short film about what you read. Try the Ignatian Method.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember Jerome (September 30).

Lectionary Readings:

• Job 1:1; 2:1-10
• Psalm 26
• Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
• Mark 10:2-16

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

Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Monday’s Reflection

WHY “PRACTICE” prayer? People often ask this question. They insist that they pray all the time, not just at some specified hour of the day. People resist putting a set time for prayer in their Day-Timer.

As Paul tells us, prayer without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17) is the goal of the spiritual life. … However, given the reality of our human condition, we delude ourselves if we believe we can be aware of God at every moment without any sort of practice. Such a feat would be comparable to competing in the Olympics without ever training or practicing a sport.

- Daniel Wolpert
Creating a Life with God: The Call of Ancient Prayer Practices

From p. 17-18 of Creating a Life with God by Daniel Wolpert. Copyright © 2003 by the author. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

What is the prayer of your heart today? Share your prayer.

Today’s Scripture Reading

Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?

- Job 2:10, NRSV

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for the sacraments and those who receive them. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Many Ways to Pray. Think of the Ignatian Method — named after Ignatius of Loyola — as a sort of virtual experience of the scripture where you read the scripture and then create in your mind a short film about what you read. Try the Ignatian Method.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember Jerome (September 30).

Lectionary Readings:

• Job 1:1; 2:1-10
• Psalm 26
• Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
• Mark 10:2-16

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

Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Sunday’s Reflection

A LIFE OF GRATITUDE
fosters a life of humility.
Humility, rooted in gratitude,
provides the soft heart
in which God may form a new creation, ever new,
changed from one glory into another glory.

- JoAnn Evans Miller
Alive Now

From p. 2 of Alive Now, March/April 2007. Copyright © 2007 by The Upper Room. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

Tell us about your understanding of the role of humility in your life. Share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture Reading

Are any among you in trouble? They should pray. Are any among you happy? They should sing praises.

- James 5:13, GNT

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for persons with whom we disagree. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Pray Your Type. 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 Matthew (September 21).

Lectionary Readings:

• Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
• Psalm 124
• James 5:13-20
• Mark 9:38-50

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

Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Saturday’s Reflection

WHEN I CLEAR SPACE IN MY LIFE, I see my fears face-to-face. My fearful shadow self emerges, and I have to admit my vulnerability and weakness. To redeem this part of my shadow, I can allow Christ’s presence to enter it. Christ’s presence with my shadow shows me that fear does serve a purpose. A little fear keeps us safe. … When I realize the value of my fear, I can let my fear serve its true purpose in my life. I can allow fear to protect me, when appropriate, and I can thank it for its efforts and set it aside when I don’t need it. When my fear is thus redeemed, it subsides; the fear comes out of the shadow and becomes part of the self that lives in the light.

- Sarah Parsons
A Clearing Season: Reflections for Lent

From p. 87 of A Clearing Season: Reflections for Lent by Sarah Parsons. Copyright © 2005 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

Talk about your fears. Share your reflections.

Today’s Scripture Reading

Jesus said, “If your eye distracts you from God, pull it out and throw it away. You’re better off one-eyed and alive than exercising your twenty-twenty vision from inside the fire of hell.”

- Mark 9:47, THE MESSAGE

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for persons with whom we disagree. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Pray Your Type. 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 Matthew (September 21).

Lectionary Readings:

• Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
• Psalm 124
• James 5:13-20
• Mark 9:38-50

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

Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Friday’s Reflection

THE IMPACT of our “spiritual life” … has to do with the spirit in which we approach people and events. That spirit displays itself as much in the moments of frustration as in the moments of inspiration. As we stew in reactive emotions, we are engaging in “spiritual practice,” however unhelpful, which affects our presence to ourselves and others. The way we live our life is our spiritual practice — no more, no less, nothing but, nothing else.

- Robert Corin Morris
Wrestling with Grace: A Spirituality for the Rough Edges of Daily Life

From p. 14 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

“The way we live our life is our spiritual practice.” Share your thoughts on this quote.

Today’s Scripture Reading

My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives.

- James 5:19-20, THE MESSAGE

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for persons with whom we disagree. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Pray Your Type. 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 Matthew (September 21).

Lectionary Readings:

• Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
• Psalm 124
• James 5:13-20
• Mark 9:38-50

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

Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Thursday’s Reflection

WHY IS IT so hard for us to believe that God’s love really is unconditional and that we should imitate God’s love not only for others, but also for ourselves? Perhaps we have regarded self-centered behavior too harshly. We are unwilling or unable to give ourselves the same gentle grace that God offers us and that we believe should be offered to others. Leap from doubt to belief and remember that God loves you, delights in you, and yearns for your response.

- Rueben P. Job
A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God

From pp. 389-90 of A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God by Norman Shawchuck and Rueben P. Job. Copyright © 2003 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

“Leap from doubt to belief and remember that God loves you, delights in you, and yearns for your response.” Share your response.

Today’s Scripture Reading

Jesus said, “No one can use my name to do something good and powerful, and in the next breath cut me down. If he’s not an enemy, he’s an ally.”

- Mark 9:39, THE MESSAGE

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for persons with whom we disagree. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Pray Your Type. 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 Matthew (September 21).

Lectionary Readings:

• Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
• Psalm 124
• James 5:13-20
• Mark 9:38-50

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

Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Wednesday’s Reflection

AN ALTAR, A PEW, A SEAT ON THE BUS, a kitchen table: all become holy places when we confess before God. Today, in this holy place, God meets us, hears us and forgives us. In this holy place, God empowers us with genuine love to share with a hurting world. Be for God, a holy loving people.

- Kwasi I. Kena
The Africana Worship Book

From page 156 of The Africana Worship Book: Year A, edited by Valerie Bridgeman Davis and Safiyah Fosua. Copyright © 2006 by Discipleship Resources. Used by permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

Share your reflections about today’s reading. Join the conversation.

Today’s Scripture Reading

Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you will be healed. The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect.

- James 5:16, GNT

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for persons with whom we disagree. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Pray Your Type. 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 Matthew (September 21).

Lectionary Readings:

• Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
• Psalm 124
• James 5:13-20
• Mark 9:38-50

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

Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Tuesday’s Reflection

OUR THIRST FOR GOD will be satisfied. Once we have become aware of this yearning, once this passionate need and longing has opened up within us, we can hear a stream off in the distance gurgling toward us. We bend every effort to find that stream. However strong or persistent our efforts, though, they are insignificant compared with the mighty rush of water coming to meet us. Though we may try to slake our thirst elsewhere, the Living Water will find our parched mouths. It will not be our small dippers that finally bring the water to our tongues. Rather, it will be the desire of the Water itself to meet our need, the love of the One whom we have struggled to learn to love, that will overcome our last resistance and pour delicious satisfaction on our aching lips.

- David Rensberger
“Thirsty for God”
Weavings Journal

From p. 25 of Weavings Journal, July/August 2000. Copyright © 2001 by The Upper Room. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

Tell us — are you thirsting for Living Water? Share your reflections.

Today’s Scripture Reading

I assure you that anyone who gives you a drink of water because you belong to me will certainly receive a reward.

- Mark 9:41, GNT

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for persons with whom we disagree. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Pray Your Type. 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 Matthew (September 21).

Lectionary Readings:

• Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
• Psalm 124
• James 5:13-20
• Mark 9:38-50

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

Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Monday’s Reflection

O GREAT AND GLORIOUS GOD,
who comes to us
in all the experiences of our lives;
help us to embrace your presence,
fixing it in our hearts and minds
so that we may grow
closer to you and others.
Amen.

- Sally Dyck
The Upper Room Disciplines 2010: A Book of Daily Devotions

From p. 53 of The Upper Room Disciplines 2010: A Book of Daily Devotions. Copyright © 2009 by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/. Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

Where are you observing God’s presence today? Share your observations.

Today’s Scripture Reading

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

- Psalm 124:8, NIV

This Week …

Special Need:

This Week: Pray for persons with whom we disagree. Add your prayer to the Prayer Wall.

Tips for Your Spirit:

Pray Your Type. 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 Matthew (September 21).

Lectionary Readings:

• Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
• Psalm 124
• James 5:13-20
• Mark 9:38-50

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

Copyright © 2009 The Upper Room | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA