Today’s Reflection
When God puts a “finger” on those things in our lives that are inconsistent with God’s will for our wholeness, it is not simply to point them out. It is not just to say that they must go or must be changed. That finger has a hand attached that offers us the nurture into wholeness that we need at that point. This concern for our whole being is the essential nature of God’s knock upon the closed doors of our lives. The knocks come at those points where God is shut out of our lives; and we are imprisoned within, imprisoned by some bondage that does not allow us to be free in God’s love and in God’s will for our wholeness in our life with others.
—M. Robert Mulholland Jr., Shaped by the Word: The Power of Scripture in Spiritual Formation, Anniversary Edition (Upper Room Books, 2023)
Today’s Question
When has God knocked on a closed door in your life? Join the conversation.
Today’s Scripture
Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you, and you with me.
—Revelation 3:20 (NRSVUE)
Prayer for the Week
Help us, O God, to let you do whatever you want to do in our lives. Help us to say yes to you at the center of our being. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. [prayer from Shaped by the Word by M. Robert Mulholland Jr.]
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room.
Something More
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Lectionary Readings
- Jeremiah 33:14-16
- Psalm 25:1-10
- 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
- Luke 21:25-36
Read the lectionary texts courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library here.
Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.
1 Comment
After 4 years of no church, an opportunity was very welcome when I was in army basic training and I took it. It led me to Korea, later my wife there, and much later to a very important one-on-one experience that set me on the path I’m on today. Thank You, Lord
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