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Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage
Join us in The Upper Room Chapel as we recognize Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Read More
David J. Fetterman | Read 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
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Sign Up TodayAbsorbed with God
Paul was concerned with what holds our highest attention: earthly concerns, or God. Essentially, he asks, “Are you consumed with things of this world: your marriages, your emotions, your possessions? Are you preoccupied with today? Or are you captivated with God and the new world that God...
O God, whose love constantly seeks me and whose care never falters, show me the way to give to you my utmost loyalty and to be preoccupied only with you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Things are not always as they seem. To Jonah, the people of Nineveh seem beyond hope, so he runs away rather than going to preach to them. But God has other plans. To Jonah’s surprise, the Ninevites turn to God. In our eyes, social standing and wealth may seem to divide people into different classes, but the psalmist declares that in God’s economy all are equal. Paul echoes the theme of the temporary nature of all things in this life; they should not be our source of security. Jesus opens his ministry in Mark by proclaiming that God is breaking into history to overthrow what has been accepted as the way things are. Sometimes God’s perspective is not our perspective.
Read Jonah 3:1-10. Can you think of a time when you sensed God calling you to do something you didn’t want to do? How did you respond?
Read Psalm 62:5-12. How have you experienced God’s “awesome deeds” in your life? What is your response?
Read 1 Corinthians 7:29-31. What distracts you from focusing on God? How might you reorder your priorities?
Read Mark 1:14-20. What might have led Simon, Andrew, James, and John to immediately stop what they were doing and follow Jesus? Are there things that make you hesitate in following Jesus’ call to you?
Respond by posting a prayer.
I join many of those who will pray for you as you seek to discern what you are called to be at this moment. May God grant you the courage to fulfill that calling. May we all open our eyes and see the misery, open our ears and hear the cries of God’s people, and, like God through the Lord Jesus Christ, be incarnate amongst them.”
View a growing list of resources for the spiritual work of overcoming racism.
