WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10
Courageous Conversations
Prayer
Gracious God, I confess that I have not always showed compassion to others as You have called me to do. Jesus, I confess that I have not given compassion to myself as I should. You encourage me to focus on your grace, mercy, and forgiveness, but instead I replay my missteps. With your arms of compassion, envelop my need to be “right” and remind me that being a child of God does not assure complete knowledge or to be without fault.
Holy Spirit, renew and remake me according to your image so I display the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, generosity, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)[Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 humility, self control. Nothing in the Torah stands against such things.]. Amen.-------
Meditation – 60 Days of Prayer for Monday, 08 August 2016 from The Upper Room in Nashville, Tennessee, United States
MONDAY, AUGUST 8
Beginning this week, we are delighted to have Rev. Dr. M. Scott Hughes, Director of Adult Discipleship in the Leadership Ministries section of the United Methodist Church Discipleship Ministries in Nashville, Tennessee, as our guest. We believe Scott can help us think, pray, and act in ways that will help us prepare spiritually for the ministry and mission God is calling us to embrace in the future.
Scott: If you’re like me, just the thought of having a difficult conversation can send your conflict avoidance radar into overdrive. Need to speak with a spouse about an unmet need? No thanks. Need to speak with a co-worker or boss about an unhealthy office dynamic that involves him or her? Hide! Need to challenge a friend about her recent behavior? Avoid her. Church having a “holy conversation” about immigration, human sexuality, or some other social issue? Skip.
However, growing as a disciple of Jesus Christ will require difficult conversations. They happen in all our relationships and even in our church communities.
In a culture saturated with winning and losing, debate over dialogue, fear mongering, and an increasingly larger political divide, the church has an opportunity to nurture disciples who are willing to engage in difficult conversations and model for the world how to respectfully disagree in love.
Please read Ephesians 4:1-6[Ephesians 4:1
Therefore I, the prisoner united with the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
2 Always be humble, gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love, 3 and making every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit gives through the binding power of shalom. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as when you were called you were called to one hope. 5 And there is one Lord, one trust, one immersion, 6 and one God, the Father of all, who rules over all, works through all and is in all.
], and meditate on its meaning for the United Methodist Church today.
Our mailing address is:
The Upper Room Strategic Initiatives
PO Box 340007
Nashville, Tennessee 37203, United States
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