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Hope Springs Forth
Throughout the year, we have continued to celebrate the 90th anniversary of The Upper Room daily Read More
Stephen Handy | Read Psalm 19:7-14
Directions can be tricky, especially if you are in a new place or country and are not familiar with the culture, language, and customs. Things get “lost in translation” easily. Having the interpretative lens to translate the directions leads to a better sense of forward motion and a greater sense...
God, direct us so that our ways will be your ways, our hearts will be your heart and our hands will be your hands in the world. May we never become complacent and satisfied with mediocrity, but grounded in your grace and compelled by your radical love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
These readings offer a common theme: God offers wisdom to the Israelites in order that they may be a people of obedience. As the Israelites continuously deny God, God’s wisdom pursues them in a quiet but gentle way to keep them on the path of righteousness. God shows them signposts so that there is always graceful guidance to keep them focused on the pathway ahead. James reminds his readers that the tongue is both a giver and destroyer of life. When using words, use them wisely, so that God may be honored and people may be healed.
Read Proverbs 1:20-33. When have you neglected God’s wisdom? What caused your neglect? What will it take to wait and reconnect to God’s wisdom?
Read Psalm 19:1-14. What gets in the way of hearing God even in the silence of your day? In the midst of competing noises, how can you learn to appreciate the silence so that God can speak?
Read James 3:1-12. How do you deprogram your mind, heart, and soul to listen and not talk so much? How do you create a practice of living out of the anatomy of two ears and one mouth versus talking twice as much as you listen?
Read Mark 8:27-38. Who is Jesus for you? Do your words for Jesus align with your actions in the world? If Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One, what behaviors in your life need to change to align with what comes from your mouth?
Respond by posting a prayer.
