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About Disciplines

The Upper Room Disciplines provides an opportunity to look more deeply at scripture by offering a week of devotions by a single author on a particular theme.

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Latest Disciplines Devotions

The Shape of Waiting - December 18, 2016

December 18, 2016

And so we wait, now one week from Christmas; even more, we wait for Christ to appear in our midst today. The angel quotes the Isaiah 7:14 text to Joseph: “Look,...

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The Shape of Waiting - December 17, 2016

December 17, 2016

Many times, our waiting will take a countercultural shape. Christ entered creation fully in the flesh, becoming part of human experience. Thus we believe that the gospel can take root in...

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The Shape of Waiting - December 16, 2016

December 16, 2016

For Paul and for us, the shape of waiting is discipleship in Jesus Christ. Christ is our brother, “descended from David according to the flesh” and also raised from the dead,...

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The Shape of Waiting - December 15, 2016

December 15, 2016

Those of us who live in the northern hemisphere have come to the shortest days of the year. With the psalmist, we continue to pray for restoration—for ourselves, for those who...

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The Shape of Waiting - December 14, 2016

December 14, 2016

We wait in prayer, praying with the psalmist: “O Shepherd of Israel, . . . stir up your might, and come to save us.” We hear the word save quite often...

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The Shape of Waiting - December 13, 2016

December 13, 2016

Many of us are used to reading this text as directly related to Jesus’ birth and specifically to the virgin birth of Jesus. That’s one perspective, but let’s do our best...

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The Shape of Waiting - December 12, 2016

December 12, 2016

Advent calls us to the discipline of waiting. But, for what are we waiting, and how do we wait? Preachers and worship leaders will respond to that question in differing ways,...

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Living Water in the Wilderness - December 11, 2016

December 11, 2016

Every year or so I take a group of students on a pilgrimage to Almost Heaven. Its institutional label is Appalachia: Arts, Energy, and Education. Most of these pilgrimages are to...

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Living Water in the Wilderness - December 10, 2016

December 10, 2016

Nancy Mairs, poet, essayist, teacher of embodied spirituality, came to lecture at Drew University several years ago. Much of her writing and teaching was engaged in the struggle for justice, artistic...

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Living Water in the Wilderness - December 9, 2016

December 9, 2016

Could you repeat that?” If you’ve ever had the experience of going for snacks just as a game-winning basket occurs, you know the importance of repetition. When we miss out, we...

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