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Renewal Through Routine
The Upper Room Disciplines has been a source of strength and comfort to readers for decades. Read More
Kayla Craig | Read Matthew 11:16-19
The liberating love of a God who enters into covenants with us and makes a way for miracles in the mundane—who brings heaven to earth and has been weaving a sacred love story since before time began—frees us to live in a new way. We are no longer bound by...
O Jesus, friend of sinners, I belong in you. Thank you for making a way when there was no way. Help me find worth in you alone when the world does not understand your liberating love. Give me wisdom as I live in your upside-down kingdom. Amen.
The reading in Genesis shifts our attention from Abraham to his son Isaac. When Isaac comes of age, Abraham sends a servant to find a wife for him. When the servant meets Rebekah, her kind hospitality convinces him that she is the one. Isaac marries her, and the reading in the psalm celebrates nuptial love as a symbol of God’s love. Paul in Romans reflects on the human condition. We desire to do what is right, but we fall short over and over again. What is the solution? God delivers us through Jesus Christ. In Matthew, Jesus emphasizes his intimate relationship with God and invites all who are weary to enter into Christ’s rest.
Read Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67. Which of these or other biblical stories model for you the relationship between God and humanity?
Read Psalm 45:10-17. How have you seen God at work in the way loving relationships have transformed you?
Read Romans 7:15-25a. How might participating in Com- munion in times of strife or sin help you be reconciled to God and others?
Read Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30. The life of faith holds many ironies. How do you hold together the seeming opposites of Jesus’ and John’s focus in their ministries? of seeking to be yoked to God when your burden is too heavy?
Respond by posting a prayer.
