Daily Bread March 24

Discover Who We Really Are, Part 2
Kris Judd of Des Moines, IA, USA


Surely the Lord your God has blessed you in all your undertakings; he knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing. -Deuteronomy 2:7

A time to wander in the wilderness and wrestle with the deeper questions will be offered to each of us at least once in our life. Such a time has been and will continue to be given to the church as we engage in the ongoing discernment of who we are called to be as a people. It is an invitation, not a burden. An uncomfortable opportunity to be received as gift.

As President Veazey shared in his 2017 address to the church, “It is ironic and intriguing to me that our current challenges are providing added incentive for us to ask essential questions about the essence of the gospel and the church. These challenges-financial and cultural-have pushed us into a kind of spiritual labor, and the future church already is being born.” New things are born and tested in desert times.

Lenten Reflection Questions:

  • When have you wandered in the wilderness or wrestled with deeper questions?
  • How is the future church being born out of the challenges we experience?

Prayer Phrase

Are we moving toward Jesus, the peaceful One?

Lenten Spiritual Practices

Moving Toward the Peaceful One

As Jesus was nearing the final days of his life, he wept over the city and proclaimed, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace” (Luke 19:41-42).What are the things that make for peace in our lives, communities, and around the world? During the Lenten season, spend time in silent refection or journaling each day to notice: Am I moving toward Jesus, the peaceful One? Pay attention to your attitudes, actions, and relationships this day. When did you most embody the peaceful One in your daily living? When were your thoughts or actions contrary to the peace of Jesus Christ? How might Jesus, the peaceful One, who is always near to you, be inviting you to draw nearer to him through your daily living?

Fasting and Giving-$40 in 40 Days

A Lenten fast gives us an opportunity to make space in our lives so that God can live in and through us.  It’s a time to evaluate what we hunger for most and what we consume. This year, we’ve been invited to tithe as a spiritual practice by setting aside $40 during the 40 days of Lent. If you are participating, pay attention today to the dollar you have given. What might you have done with that dollar otherwise? How does Lenten generosity invite you to reflect on what is “enough” in your life? Who might you invite to join you in this practice? How might your gift be magnified by the many others responding to the same call?

You can make your $40 offering anytime during the Lenten season online or through your offering envelope for Worldwide Mission Tithes.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

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