Category Archives: Exodus

Pray always

John Everett Millais (1829-1896)
The Unjust Judge and the Importunate Widow
Wood engraving; proof on India paper, 1864
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pray always without becoming weary.
Luke 18:1b

Injustice, violence, and fear in our communities, society, and world. Rising food, housing, and utility costs. Personal illness, family dysfunction, and problems in the workplace. Each day we face great challenges. Sometimes we grow tired from holding them all, balancing them all.

When we let go of our mistaken belief that we always need to be strong, we can find relief. Asking trusted friends or family members for support will renew our energy. Reading sacred Scripture will help us hear God speak to us. Praying constantly will remind us our help is from the Lord. We need God to show us how to be and guide us in everything we do.

Today I will read Luke 18:1-8 and then spend a few quiet minutes in prayer. I will unburden myself to the Lord and ask for help, guidance, and deeper faith in God’s love for me.

Believe and be fed

James Tissot (1836-1902)
The Gathering of the Manna
(La récolte de la manne)
gouache on board, c. 1896-1902
The Jewish Museum

So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.” John 6:28-29

To follow the Way of Jesus Christ, to practice forgiveness, compassion, healing, and awareness of the needs of others, to surrender to the will of God: this is the work I am called to accomplish every day.

Today I will nourish myself with the Word of God and believe that Jesus was sent from God to show me how to live, love, and do the works of God.

A covenant of love

Laura James
Love One Another

The people all answered with one voice, “We will do everything that the LORD has told us.” Exodus 24:3

The Lord has told us to love one another. May we embody patience, kindness, respectful listening, nonviolence, forgiveness, gentleness, and generosity.

Let us join together to build up the Body of Christ in love and service to one another.

Love thy neighbor

Jesus said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39b

Today I will not oppress or wrong anyone. I will be faithful to the Lord’s command to love my neighbor.

Love is respect. Love is kindness. Love is welcoming. Love is nonjudgmental. Love is listening. Love is peace-making.

Love is acknowledging the presence of God in each and every person everywhere.

Raise your heart to the Lord

Aaron and Hur holding up Moses’ hands, 1873

My help is from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:2

When I forget Who is in charge, Whose vision is unfolding for our world, Who is the center of my life, I tend to become anxious and discouraged. When I remember God is holding me and everyone else in a loving, compassionate embrace, I can relax and put my energy into enjoying the gift of the moment and helping where I am able.

Today I will remember to continually raise my heart to the Lord in prayer when life’s events threaten to take over my mind and energy.

Who is in charge?

N. Courier
Christ and the woman of Samaria at Jacob’s Well
lithograph, hand colored, between 1835 and 1836

“Is the LORD in our midst or not?” Exodus 17:7

To believe in God is to know God is present with us always.

God is in charge. God has not abandoned us or forsaken us. God will not let us be lost in the frightening, crazy, unjust, hard-hearted happenings of the world.

Today I will welcome the Lord. I will take time to listen for God’s voice. I will embody the Lord’s kindness by speaking respectfully to everyone I encounter.

Real work

Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov (1806-1858)
People Gather Manna
via Wikimedia Commons

A job may earn me money, but my real work is learning to love—at home, in the workplace, in the community, those I know, those I have never met.

Today my work is to practice compassion, patience, forgiveness, generosity, gratitude, nonviolence, and reverence for all of God’s creation. My never-failing mentor is the Lord.

[Jesus said,] “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” ” John 6:27

Love thy neighbor

When I love my neighbor as myself, I love the Lord, my God, with my whole heart, soul, and mind.

When I forget to treat myself and others with reverence, I have forgotten the reverence due to God.

Thus says the LORD: “You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.” Exodus 22:21-22