Complex and Colorful
Today's Reflection
WHEN WE FOLLOW Jesus, we’re with the one who offers hope, touches wounds, comforts grief, speaks compassion, uses courage, and bestows mercy. We may find ourselves in places of great affliction, but we won’t find ourselves without hope. When we follow Jesus, we’ll get a glimpse of the kingdom to come, a complex and colorful kingdom where all God’s people are welcomed and loved.
—Rebecca Dwight Bruff, Loving the World with God: Fourth Day Living, (Upper Room Books, 2014)
Today's Question
How does following Jesus reveal glimpses of God’s complex and colorful kingdom?
Today's Scripture
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.
—Revelation 7:9 (NRSV)
Prayer for the Week
Grant us, Lord God, a vision of your world as your love would have it:
a world where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or poor;
a world where the riches of creation are shared, and everyone can enjoy them;
a world where different races and cultures live in harmony and mutual respect;
a world where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by love.
Give us the inspiration and courage to build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Something More
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Lectionary Readings
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.
Sponsored by The Upper Room. Copyright © 2019 | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
3 Comments | Join the Conversation.A Movement of Compassion
Today's Reflection
OUR TIMES CRY OUT for a mass movement of compassion. This urgent need coincides with the goal of the Christ-following life, for unless our faith makes us compassionate, it can hardly be called Christian. Following Jesus means moving out of our privatized, isolated, and self-enclosed worlds into a compassionate engagement with our suffering neighbor. As we open ourselves to the pilgrimage experience, … we journey from self-centeredness to compassion. May you and I become everyday pilgrims whom God can use to bring healing to our broken world.
—Trevor Hudson, A Mile in My Shoes: Cultivating Compassion (Upper Room Books, 2005)
Today's Question
Where do you see opportunity to show compassion?
Today's Scripture
“And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit.”
—1 Thessalonians 1:6 (NRSV)
Prayer for the Week
Give me the eyes to see when others hurt, the ears to hear when others cry, and the courage to bring light into their darkness.
Submit your prayer to The Upper Room or share it in the comment section.
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Lectionary Readings
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Looking for lectionary-based resources? Learn more about The Upper Room Disciplines.
Sponsored by The Upper Room. Copyright © 2019 | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA
6 Comments | Join the Conversation.