Lent-Day 21: Peace.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” (John 14:27)
We experience two different kinds of peace. One kind is the peace the world gives. This refers to those fleeting feelings of contentment when everything in life is going well. We feel a pleasurable sense of well-being. There is nothing wrong with this type of peace, but we all know that it can pass very quickly. The other kind of peace is the one God offers to us. It is a lasting peace that cannot be taken be away from us. It does not depend on our lives running smoothly. God’s peace provides an inner assurance that, ultimately, all will be well. This peace occurs in the presence — not the absence-of upheaval and turmoil.
We observe the most obvious example of God’s peace in the life of Jesus. For most of Jesus’ life, the odds are stacked against him. Tested, tried, and taunted, Jesus maintains an inner serenity through it all. He knows instinctively that because he trusts God completely, all will be well — even when things aren’t in the moment. This is the peace that God offers to us.
Daily Practice
Find a quiet place today and hear Christ speak these words into your life in spite of your circumstances: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” Receive this peace so that you can embody it for those around you. (Trevor Hudson, Pauses for Lent: 40 Words for 40 Days (Upper Room Books, 2015) p. 37.)
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The Upper Room - Lent, Week 4 - The Upper Room Publishing in Nashville, Tennessee, United States
This newsletter comes to you from The Upper Room Center for Christian Spiritual Formation, an evolving offering of Upper Room resources, past and present.
Signs of God's Presence by John S. Mogabgab
Gratitude is the gesture of a heart
opened to receive God
How do we remain alert for the signs of God’s entrance into our lives and the life of our time? What can keep us awake in the drowsy atmosphere of habit that cozily blankets our days? According to Paul, the answer is gratitude. To the Colossians he writes, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving” (Col. 4:2). Paul is here pointing to the profound relation between spiritual alertness and the act of offering thanks. Gratitude gathers us into that double helix of grace descending and praise ascending that forms the basic design of life with God. Gratitude is the gesture of a heart opened to receive God, a heart acquainted with the shape of things to come, a heart alert to the tremors of a new creation in the birthing. (From “Editor’s Introduction,” Weavings (November/December 1992). John S. Mogabgab was the founding editor for Weavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life.)
Weavings "Signs of the Times Collection" (six PDF articles from Weavings) is available in The Upper Room Bookstore.
Practice: Gratitude by Beth A. Richardson
A good friend’s husband was diagnosed with a life threatening illness. Together they went through two months of unknowns, hospitalization, and surgeries. Later, she reflected on that time and said, “Not once during those months was I afraid. I was so grateful for all the people who were helping in so many ways. And I found that I could not be grateful and fearful at the same time.”
Gratitude and its close cousin, joy, result from action, not just feeling. Active joyfulness brings with it an awareness of who we are and an acknowledgment that all we have are gifts from a generous, loving God. We search for signs of the good in the people and situations around us. We work to give up selfish perspectives and join more closely in the movements of God in the world.
Living from the perspective of gratitude and joy, our hearts
remain open to the Spirit’s influence; we stay connected to God’s guidance. Being grateful for God’s good in our lives displaces our fears and dissatisfactions and replaces them with God’s presence.
Loving God, help me be the face of joy to someone who might be struggling today. If I am facing struggles of my own, gently guide my thoughts toward gratitude, that I may rejoice always in you. Amen. (From The Uncluttered Heart by Beth A. Richardson. © 2009 by Upper Room Books. Used with permission.)
God's Beloved by Rueben P. Job
[We are] God’s beloved, embraced in God’s love for now and eternity. All words are inadequate to describe the extravagance and grandeur of the gift of salvation. Our hymns of praise and gratitude fall lifeless before the immensity of this gift. We simply and humbly offer all that we are to the One who offers us the option of becoming more than we are. (From A Guide to Prayer for All Who Walk with God by Rueben P. Job, Norman Shawchuck and John S. Mogabgab. Copyright © 2013 The Upper Room.)
Audio Lectio
Pray with us the gospel lessions for each Sunday of Lent. Audio Lectio is a guided meditation using each week's gospel reading from the lectionary.
Filled by Linda Douty
If we come to Christ
hungry, thirsty,
starving
for the friendship
of the divine,
we shall be filled in God’s sacred silence. (From Rhythm & Fire: Experiencing the Holy in Community and Solitude. Linda's newest book is Rhythms of Growth: 365 Meditations to Nurture the Soul.)
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Blessings to you during this Lenten season.
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"Lent, Day 19: Poor" The United Methodist Church Prays in Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Each Wednesday and Friday of Lent, we use excerpts from Pauses for Lent, a book by South African writer and pastor Trevor Hudson. Today is the 19th day of Lent and the word of the day is POOR.
Lent, Day 19: Poor
“He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” (Luke 4:18)
The word poor appears many times in the Bible. Throughout the Old Testament, the poor have a special place in God’s heart. In the Psalms, God rescues the poor, defends the poor, and hears their cry. Not surprisingly, Jesus places sharing the good news with the poor at the top of his priorities for ministry.
The devastating suffering of poverty causes God to weep. Sharing God’s grief means we act in whatever ways we can to bridge the gap between the rich and poor. In this way, we can embody Jesus’ good news for the poor.
Lent challenges us to examine how we relate to those who are impoverished. We can ask ourselves, Who do I know personally who suffers from poverty?, What can I learn from the poor?, and How is God calling me to help in efforts aimed at alleviating poverty? Questions like these lead us into a greater faithfulness to God whose heart is always turned coward the poor.
Daily Practice
As a practical expression of your desire to share God’s heart for the poor, make a small donation today to a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that works alongside the economically poor. (Trevor Hudson, Pauses for Lent: 40 Words for 40 Days (Upper Room Books, 2015) Used with Permission. All rights reserved.)
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