The Fullness of God’s Hope

February 3, 2012

Today’s Reflection

PRAYING THE SINNER’S PRAYER is not the end goal of the Christian life. Praying one prayer, or having one experience of God’s grace, is not the fullness of what God hopes for us. Please don’t misunderstand me: having an initial experience of God’s grace by faith is absolutely essential, but it does not represent the entirety of the Christian life. When we talk about “getting saved,” we sound a lot like [a] naive couple on their honeymoon who think they have experienced the fullness of marriage. They will soon realize that getting married is just the beginning of marriage, not the end. Similarly, receiving forgiveness of our sins and being born again do make us Christians. … There is a real change, but it is just the beginning of an entirely new way of life.

- Kevin M. Watson
A Blueprint for Discipleship

From pages 29-30 of A Blueprint for Discipleship: Wesley’s General Rules as a Guide for Christian Living by Kevin M. Watson. Copyright © 2009 by Discipleship Resources. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

What is the next step in God’s grace for you? Share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture Reading

If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!
1 Corinthians 9:16, NRSV

This Week: pray for those who need to know God’s love. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.

For Your Spirit:

Join author Derek Maul in our 2012 online Lent eRetreat, Reaching Toward Easter. Daily reflections, prayer, and weekly group discussion will prepare us to fully enter the joy of Easter. REGISTER! For more information on this and other online courses from The Upper Room, click here.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember Elizabeth Lange (February 3).

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2012, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

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God Loves Us Still

February 2, 2012

Today’s Reflection

THE CHRISTIAN FAITH teaches that God wants to save us when we are at our worst. God loves us still. God is not ignorant of our sin; God sees it more devastatingly than we do. But God loves each one of us and sees someone whom God wants to redeem and make new. Think back to the words that Paul heard from Jesus: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

It is essential to keep grace at the center of the conversation when we talk about growth in the Christian life. We must remember that grace is the major power source that gives energy to all of our efforts to grow in our faith.

- Kevin M. Watson
A Blueprint for Discipleship

From page 16 of A Blueprint for Discipleship: Wesley’s General Rules as a Guide for Christian Living by Kevin M. Watson. Copyright © 2009 by Discipleship Resources. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.

Today’s Question

How do you think about grace in terms of growth in your Christian life? Share your thoughts.

Today’s Scripture Reading

…but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.
Praise the LORD!
Psalm 147:11, 20c, NRSV

This Week: pray for those who need to know God’s love. Submit your prayer to The Upper Room Living Prayer Center or share it in the comment section below.

For Your Spirit:

Join author Derek Maul in our 2012 online Lent eRetreat, Reaching Toward Easter. Daily reflections, prayer, and weekly group discussion will prepare us to fully enter the joy of Easter. REGISTER! For more information on this and other online courses from The Upper Room, click here.

Saints, Inc.:

This week we remember Elizabeth Lange (February 3).

Lectionary Readings

(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)

Sponsored by Upper Room Ministries ®. Copyright © 2012, a ministry of GBOD | PO Box 340004 | Nashville, TN 37203-0004 | USA

Share

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Our Noisy Lives

February 1, 2012

Today’s Reflection THE HAMMERING STACCATO OF NOISE … so infuses our daily lives that we have forgotten we have a choice: we can choose to disconnect from the world’s chatter. Disconnecting from the noise allows us to plug back into our quiet selves and to reconnect with God. Our souls, our minds, our bodies all [...]

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God Can Take Care of You

January 31, 2012

Today’s Reflection IN CELTIC TRADITION, the wild goose is sometimes used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Geese, like the wind and the Spirit, come from distant places we cannot see and go where God directs them. When my grandmother died, a flock of Canada geese flew over the cemetery, reminding me again that [...]

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Walk with Kindness

January 30, 2012

Today’s Reflection COMPASSIONATE GOD, help me not to walk behind others or to walk in front of them but to walk beside them with kindness. Amen. – Richard Morgan Settling In From page 138 of Settling In: My First Year in a Retirement Community by Richard Morgan. Copyright © 2006 by Richard Morgan. All rights [...]

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A Prayer for Walking in Grace

January 29, 2012

Today’s Reflection May I walk this day in the realm of grace, walking with You my feet firmly on your earth-path, my heart loving all as kindred, my words and deeds alive with justice. May I walk as blessing, meeting blessing at every turn in every challenge, blessing, in all opposition, blessing, in harm’s way, [...]

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10 Ways to Stay Positive

January 28, 2012

Today’s Reflection 1. Start the day with prayer and praise. Before you get up each day, take a moment to praise God and ask for God’s help in seeing the good in the day ahead. 2. Smile! You don’t necessarily need to pretend to be cheerful when you’re not, but sometimes just smiling can help [...]

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Life As Pilgrim People

January 27, 2012

Today’s Reflection MOTHER TERESA said that the secret to life is prayer. We, as pilgrims, see prayer as the heart of our journey. The business of every Christian is prayer, says Brother Lawrence, an eleventh-century lay brother who “practiced the presence of God” as he resoled shoes and prepared meals in the monastery kitchen. Prayer [...]

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When Our Spirits Feel Frozen

January 26, 2012

Today’s Reflection JESUS, you had no place to call home when you lived on earth. Come, Lord, and grant us the privilege of claiming our heart-nests as your home. Show us ways to deal with winter times when our spirits feel frozen. Guide us to build a home that awaits a birthing, an aliveness of [...]

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No Wasted Love

January 25, 2012

Today’s Reflection CAREGIVERS NEED TO KNOW that no act of love is ever a waste of time for them or the one they are caring for. They need reassurance that caring is important spiritual work. … Where do we find Jesus today? We discover the answer in his words, “Truly I tell you, just as [...]

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