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The Upper Room Chaplains’ Ministry: All about Connection
Rosario “Roz” Picardo is a young, innovative, effective leader in The United Methodist Church. As an Read More
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Pamela Couture | Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-20
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Sign Up TodayOur greatest reassurance lies in our faith and confidence in the resurrection of the dead and, specifically, the resurrection of Christ Jesus. Resurrection overpowers all the negativity that weaves through this week’s scriptures—woes, curses, wickedness, perversity, deviousness, sinfulness, scoffing, diseases, unclean spirits—and what I’ve called tragedies, wounds, and the sins...
Thank you, God, for moments of peace and reassurance. May they inspire my relationship with you and humankind. Amen.
God wants us to be rooted firmly in our faith. Jeremiah contrasts those who put their trust in themselves with those who trust in God. The latter are like healthy trees with deep roots and a constant water supply, never in danger of drying up or dying. The psalmist uses the same image to describe those who meditate on God’s teachings. Thus, as you do these daily readings and reflect on them, you are sinking deep roots into fertile soil. Agricultural imagery is continued in Paul’s letter. Paul describes Jesus Christ risen in the flesh as the first fruit, meaning that he is the first of many who will be resurrected. In Luke’s version of the Beatitudes, worldly success is not necessarily an indication of God’s blessing.
Read Jeremiah 17:5-10. Examine your heart. Do you place your trust in “mere mortals” or in the Lord?
Read Psalm 1. How do you seek to meditate on God’s word day and night?
Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-20. How has your understanding of the resurrection of the dead changed your living?
Read Luke 6:17-26. How do you hold together the paradoxes of Jesus’ blessings and woes?
Respond by posting a prayer.
I could not have found The Upper Room Moments of Prayer (on Facebook Live) sooner. For it is during these moments of centering spiritual practices, meditating on the words of scripture, praying with and for the world, that I find moments of transcendence, hear whispers of peace and hope, see glimpses of truth and justice, behold visions of love and beauty amid all the stark realities that are around me.”
Join us every Monday and Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. (CST) for prayer and worship on Facebook Live.
